Dal'verzin Tepe
Introduction
Dal'verzin Tepe is one of the most important sites of ancient Northern Bactria. The place is situated
in the Middle Surkhan Valley, about 7 km to the north of modern Shurtshi (Uzbekistan). It
consists of a heavily fortified citadel and a separate city with several extramural structures.
Discovered by L. I. Al'baum in 1949 it has been one of the chief targets of the Art Historical
Expedition of Uzbekistan headed by G. A. Pugatshenkova (since 1960). The ancient city was
founded in the Greco-Bactrian Period and flourished through the age of the Kushans. After a gap
the site saw a last and only partial resettlement in the 6th-7th centuries.
A first Buddhist complex connected with the site was excavated in 1967-1968. This area (DT-1) is situated
about 700 m north of the northern city walls (cf. plan). DT-1 chiefly consisted of a massive
platform (basis of a stupa?) surrounded by a corridor and several rooms. They contained a
lot of fragmentary sculpture. The sculptures represent Bodhisattvas, Devatas, and donors, and
they were all made of unbaked clay with plastered and painted surface. The complex seems to
belong to the Kushan age (2nd-3rd centuries AD). A second Buddhist complex was excavated by
B. A. Turgunov in the 1980s. The area (DT-25) is part of the main building zone in the city (cf.
plan). Although a preliminary plan was published by the excavator, the structure of the
architecture is not clear. The same must be said as far as the question of dating is concerned.
The excavator dates the sanctuary to the second half of the 2nd century - 3rd century AD. During
the excavations remarkable examples of painted clay sculptures were found. They seem to indicate a date
of the complex slightly later than the one suggested by Turgunov.
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