The Italian Archaeological Expedition in Samarkand, Uzbekistan

The 2023 season continued the activities started in recent years. Survey: surface identification of archaeological evidence was conducted in an area of about 35 sq. km in the Karatyube piedmont South of Samarkand, between the villages of Aksay to the East and Sarykul on the West. The investigation resulted in 101 sites, classified as 92 kurgan (burial) clusters, seven tepa (anthropic hills), one sherd scatter, and one cave. The total number of sites recorded within the UIAP archaeological map is now 2409. Kafir Kala: twelve burials were excavated in the necropolis (KK-6), for a total of 31 individuals. The preliminary anthropological study of sixteen individuals indicated the presence of nine non-adults (age range: 4.5 months-7.5 years) and eight adults (three males and two females), while four poorly-represented individuals were classified as undetermined. The chronological determination study is still in progress; however, the burials probably range from the early Islamic period (8th-9th centuries) to the Timurid period (14th-early 15th centuries). The excavation of the South Shahristan (KK-7) was extended to 20 × 20 m and revealed four different phases. Phase 1 regarded a sporadic occupation that included a damaged burial of uncertain chronology. Phase 2 and Phase 3 were both characterized by domestic occupation dating to the Timurid period (14th-early 15th centuries): fourteen pits, six postholes, and three fire structures in Phase 2; four mudbrick benches, six fire structures, and two pits in Phase 3. Phase 4 revealed architectural evidence of a previous (Islamic?) period. On the 11th of November 2023, the UIAP Director had the great pleasure of accompanying the President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella during his visit to Samarkand. Three panels and a selection of remarkable finds from Kafir Kala were set up to briefly illustrate to the Italian President the results of the UIAP and the future prospects for Uzbek-Italian collaboration.