Tavka Kurgan

Tavka Kurgan

Tavka Kurgan
Fortress of Tavka Kurgan, near Shirabad, Termez. 5th-6th century CE
Shown within West and Central Asia Show map of West and Central Asia Tavka Kurgan (Uzbekistan) Show map of Uzbekistan Tavka Kurgan (Bactria) Show map of Bactria
Alternative name	Tavka Kurgan
Location	Uzbekistan
Coordinates	37°43′01″N66°59′47″E / 37.71694°N 66.99639°E / 37.71694; 66.99639
Type	Settlement
Site notes
Condition	Ruined

Tavka Kurgan is an ancient fortress and archaeological site near Shirabad, Uzbekistan. It is especially famous for some frescoes dated to the 5th-6th century CE, several of them located in the Archaeological Museum of Termez. ^{[1] [2]} One of these paintings, the so-called "Princess of Tokharistan", is actually thought to represent a hunter. ^[3]

The paintings of Tavka Kurgan were excavated by the Uzek archaeologist Šojmardon Raxmanov. ^[4] They are of very high quality, and are closely related to other paintings of the Tokharistan school such as Balalyk tepe, Adžina-tepe and Kala-i Kafirnigan, in the depiction of clothes, and especially in the treatment of the faces. ^[4]

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  Tavka Kurgan wall painting. 5th-6th century CE. Archaeological Museum of Termez
• 
  Tavka Kurgan wall painting. 5th-6th century CE. Archaeological Museum of Termez

See also

• Dilberjin Tepe

References

1. Lovell-Hoare, Sophie; Lovell-Hoare, Max (2013). Uzbekistan. Bradt Travel Guides. p. 171. ISBN   978-1-84162-461-7.
2. Ibbotson, Sophie; Lovell-Hoare, Max (15 August 2016). Uzbekistan. Bradt Travel Guides. p. 189. ISBN   978-1-78477-017-4.
3. "Most striking is the fragmented mural found at Tavka Kurgan in Shirabad and entitled 'Princess of Toharistan' . It is actually believed to be a hunter , painted in rich orange , blue and white , with striking eyes preserved so well they belie their age – 1500 years old." in Uzbekistan: The Golden Road to Samarkand. Odyssey. 2008. p. 2019. ISBN   978-962-217-795-6.
4. Grenet, Frantz (15 May 2004). "Tavka (k istorii drevnix tamožennyx sooruženij Uzbekistana). Taškent-Samarkand, Izd. A. Kadyri / Institut Arxeologii A.N. Uzb, 141 p., 68 ill. + 13 pl. couleurs h.-t. (Texte bilingue ouzbek-russe, résumé en anglais). [Tavka (contribution à l'histoire des anciens édifices frontaliers de l'Ouzbékistan)]". Abstracta Iranica (in French). 25. doi: 10.4000/abstractairanica.4213 . ISSN   0240-8910.

Sources

• Rakhmanov, Shaymardankul A. (19 May 2017). "Wall Paintings from Tavka, Uzbekistan" . Journal of Inner Asian Art and Archaeology. 7: 31–54. doi:10.1484/J.JIAAA.4.2017003.