Archaeological survey in the Karategin Valley (Tajikistan)
Team : Olivier Bordeaux (CNRS, UMR 7041 ArScAn, « Archéologie d’Asie centrale » team), Asliddine Karaïev (Agency for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Heritage under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan), Ségolène de Pontbriand (ANR FRONTIER / CNRS, UMR 7041 ArScAn, « Archéologie d’Asie centrale » team) & Satorov Amirhamza (Agency for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Heritage under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan)

Mission overview
This part of the ANR FRONTIER project led by O. Bordeaux consisted of a field survey in Tajikistan, in the Karategin Valley (Rasht) between the towns of Garm and Jigartol’, on the banks of the Surkhob (Vakhsh) river. This research is part of the cooperation agreements established by the Mission Archéologique Française en Asie Centrale / MAFAC led by Dr. Frédérique Brunet (CNRS, UMR 7041 ArScAn, « Archéologie d’Asie centrale » team) and the Agency for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Heritage of the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan, led by Sh. Khodjaev.
Objectives and unfolding of the survey
The studied region, located between Garm and Jigartol’ (Vahdat) and covering a distance of approximately 85 km, had never been properly explored in the past: devastated by a major earthquake and landslide in 1949 and damaged by the civil war that followed Tajikistan’s independence in the 1990s, this zone, despite its strategic importance, remained poorly known.
However, work had been carried out by Soviet and Tajik researchers in the 1950s and 1970s-1980s in order to identify sites, mostly from the Medieval period (kalai, qasr, mazar, etc.). The results of these surveys have been published in the ART (Arheologičeskie raboty v Tadžikistane) .
The Karategin Valley was an important trade route during Antiquity, as it provided a passage between Central Asia and Western China through the Pamir Mountains. This is why it is one of the main areas of research for the ANR FRONTIER project, which focuses on the margins of empires between the 5th century BCE and the 5th century CE.
During fieldwork, the actual survey took place from the 11th to the 21st of September, which allowed us to explore 12 sites previously identified during a Google Earth survey carried out by S. de Pontbriand in 2024. In addition, thanks to exchanges with local heritage stakeholders (i. e. directors of museums) and residents of the region, we were able to add several interesting sites to this list that belongs to the Hellenistic period and which have yielded promising results for the continuation of this project.
Preliminary results

The initial results of the survey are quite fruitful. Almost of all the sites identified using satellite images from Google Earth have proved to be informative.
Thus, architectural remains composed of different types of masonry (cut stones or raw bricks) were studied and archaeological material indicating human occupation (ceramic material, fragments and/or blocks of cut limestone, funerary steles in situ) was found at many surveyed sites.
We explored the valley from two starting points:
- the town of Garm for the western part of this section of the valley;
- the town of Todjikobod for the central part.
All in all, we surveyed 12 sites on both banks of the river. It should be noted that most of the sites selected are located between 1,300 m and 1,800 m above sea level and are not always easy to access. We therefore had to get as close as possible with an off-road vehicle and then reach them on foot. It should also be noted that as some sites are located on private land or are mausoleums (mazar) or modern cemeteries still in use today, thus we contacted the municipal authorities of the neighboring villages to obtain permission to survey those areas.
As for the inhabitants living near the sites, they have always been very open to our research and have provided us with valuable information on the recent history of the villages and sites, as well as on toponymy. This direct source of information has been very useful in identifying potential sites and gaining an idea of the nature of the sites surveyed, based on their names in the local language (Tajik) and their distant origins in other languages (Arabic and Persian in particular), not to mention the changes in the names of sites or localities since Tajikistan’s independence (transition from Russian to Tajik and from Cyrillic to Latin characters).
For each site explored, we applied the same methodology:
- a survey on foot, positioned in a line at regular intervals across the area to be surveyed;
- a complete photographic coverage (general views, detailed views, and photographs of remains and archaeological objects in situ)
- recording of the geographical coordinates of the site studied using GPS;
- collection of archaeological and geological material;
- when necessary, surface cleaning to reveal preserved remains. This occurred when we spotted the remains of a fortification wall in the form of a row of evenly spaced stones (site RD-S19).

If we look at the nature of the remains identified during prospecting, we find three main categories that correspond well with the remains known to exist from the Hellenistic and Kushan periods in Central Asia and China, namely:
- settlements (of indeterminate size), where the remains of enclosure walls visible on the surface encompass a large area that could provide sufficient space for an urban settlement;
- small strongholds or fortresses of varying shapes, which were certainly military garrisons (phrouria) intended to control the surrounding territory and communication routes;
- observation towers or watchtowers: these take the form of isolated structures located in open spaces, in strategic positions (promontories at the mouth of a secondary valley of a tributary of the Surkhob) or on rocky outcrops. These towers were used both to guide traffic in the valley and to control movements along the river.

For some sites, the type of masonry uncovered, in this case carved gypsum blocks placed in orthostats, provides information about the chronology of the remains. This construction technique is typical of the Hellenistic period and attests to the presence of Macedonian garrisons stationed in the region following Alexander’s conquest and/or at the time of the emergence of Seleucid domination over the entire region.

We also took an interest in the mazars (medieval mausoleums of saints) and modern cemeteries, which are often built over older tepes. As a result, pre-existing ancient sites have been protected because they were covered by later occupation, but this sometimes has the disadvantage of denying us access to certain parts of the remains, as local religious authorities do not always allow us access to the “most sacred” area of the site.
We therefore visited a modern cemetery, where the villagers pointed out a large, upright carved stone. It appears that this stone has been reused and may have come from an ancient or medieval site (site RD-S26).
To summarize, we can present the different categories of sites identified during this first survey campaign as follows:

At the end of each day , the ceramic material collected was washed, inventoried, and photographed. A post-prospecting study will enable us to refine the dating of the sites explored using ceramic typologies already established for Central Asia in Ancient and Medieval times.
At the end of the survey campaign, this archaeological material, which is currently being studied, was deposited in Dushanbe at the Agency for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Heritage of the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan.

Perspectives
Next year, between spring and summer 2026, a second survey campaign is planned in the eastern part of the Karategin Valley. We will start again from the town of Todjikobod and travel eastwards up the Surkhob river to Jigartol’.
The team will thus be able to continue exploring the twenty or so additional sites identified in 2024 by satellite survey and complete one of the objectives of this part of the ANR project dedicated to Tajikistan, namely to establish an inventory of Hellenistic and Kushan sites in the Karategin Valley. This information will enable us to trace the trade routes between Central Asia and China between the 5th century BCE and the 5th century CE via this major corridor.
Finally, it should be noted that this is an unprecedented census and that, as such, the sites recorded and geolocated will be protected by the Tajik heritage authorities. Ultimately, at the end of the ANR FRONTIER project in 2027, some of the newly discovered sites may be the subject to archaeological field research conducted by a Franco-Tajik team under the auspices of the Agency for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Heritage of the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan.

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OpenEdition vous propose de citer ce billet de la manière suivante :
Olivier Bordeaux, Asliddine Karaïev, Ségolène de Pontbriand, Satorov Amirhamza (23 décembre 2025). Archaeological survey in the Karategin Valley (Tajikistan). ANR FRONTIER project. Consulté le 9 mai 2026 à l’adresse https://doi.org/10.58079/15etl
