Ergebnisse
Within the urban area there are three walled areas in the centre and the north of the city which are of primary interest regarding the investigations.
As the concrete function of these quarters is not clear in every detail, the labelling “HB1”, “HB2” for the presumed temple and palace city and “HB3” (maybe the craftsmen’s quarter) are used during research.
HB1
The fragments of the famous trilingual inscription stone, dating back to the year of 832, are located in the area HB1, east to the great main street leading towards the temple/palace city HB2.
The inscription and the composition of the walled area with a central building in the centre axis suggest that we are dealing with a building of outstanding significance. Findings hint at a function as (Manichaean?) sanctuary.
HB2
The latest archaeological campaigns concentrated on the so called palace/temple city (HB2) in the north of Karabalgasun. Its rammed earth walls are still visible up to 12 metres height. Within the area of 360 x 404 metres a monumental platform (60 x 70 metres) was erected in the southern corner, the so called citadel.
According to current research, entrances existed in the western and the northern wall of that citadel; therefore, it was only accessible from the interior of the temple/palace city. Both entrance options were discovered during excavation works (although the laser scan plan could already adumbrate gaps in the wall). The archaeological record depicts a post-slot-wall in both cases with vertically placed bricks between the beams.
Passing the western gate, the ancient visitor first reached a small paved court from which he could step on a platform (0.7 metre height), made of burnt bricks as well. Half a metre to the east, this platform is bounded by another wall.
At the same time, the wall construction at the south-eastern side of the citadel was investigated. After the removal of an about 4 metre thick layer of rubble, a monumental architecture could be uncovered. A hall of 8 metres in width and at least 13 metres in length is divided by column bases once carrying the roof construction. A sondage in the southwestern corner of the citadel suggests a total length of 20 metres of the hall.
Its eastern wall and the wall of the whole citadel were built in rammed earth technique. Serving as stabilising framework construction, massive beams were set in intervals of about two metres. The western wall of the room was erected in a technique similar to the one known from the two gates, with bricks and wooden posts, now in different states of preservation. The archaeological record at the citadel clearly reveals the impact of a fire; to what extent this correlates with the events of the Kirgiz attack in 840 remains unclear.
In the northern direction, a paved court joins the hall. Known from stratigraphical considerations this court had at least two building phases.
The results of radiocarbon dating, undertaken by the Curt-Engelhorn-Zentrum, attach the samples (beams, bone fragments) to a period between the second half of the 7th century and first half of the 8th century CE.
To complete the knowledge of the northeastern corner of the citadel, the MONDOrEx conducted an archaeological investigation at the northeastern wall where the northern entrance could be excavated. The paved passage through the rammed earth wall was flanked by a post-slot-wall. With 3 metres in width this entrance was much larger than the western one. Regarding the post holes in every wall of the gate, one can assume that the entrance was complemented by a wooden gate tower as it is known from coeval images.
The archaeological investigation during the summer campaigns in 2015 and 2016 did not only reveal information about the northern gate of the citadel, but also about the connection between the hall/court on the eastern side and the western gate and room. In that context, the northern and eastern end of the western room could be determined. The north-south dimension amounts to at least 18.5 metres. Representative column bases, decorated with lotus flowers, as well as the floor screed hint at the existence of a roofing construction in ancient times. A paved terrace of ca. 1.40 m width adjoins the room and granted access to the inner court. In contrast to the eastern parts of the court, already excavated in 2014, the pavement in the new trench was very fragmentary due to the removal of material after the first collapse of the buildings. A further differentiation of structures could be stated in the north-western parts with two smaller chambers adjoining the western room. Those are also located on the rammed earth platform, but 50 centimetres below the known floor level. Similar to the eastern hall, a wattle and daub construction forms the inner room division. Considering the number of roof tiles in the rubble layers and a plinth, which probably carried a column, it is very likely that those parts were roofed. Besides the great hall in the south-eastern corner, one can assume a line of smaller rooms which were clustered around the central court. A comparable design of space is known from the Chinese palace architecture.
The central section, however, was disturbed by a deep pit filled with building material amongst others. Besides a number of fragments of so called jade books (small plates with Chinese letters) a complete skeleton of a falcon was discovered in the filling layers of the pit. The age of the bones, determined with the radiocarbon method, refers to the pre-Mongolian Khitan period.
The monumental architecture as well as the findings stemming from the citadel – such as architectural sculpture (e.g. demon masks with an apotropaic function) – suggest an outstanding significance of the complex. In that context, the architecture served as physical embodiment of power. To what extent the citadel’s (and the whole temple/palace city’s) layout and its architecture was geared to foreign models (Sogdian? Chinese?) and to which extent also the meanings of these models were adopted, is objective of the evaluation of the campaigns.
Besides the representation of the claim of power of the Uyghur Khagans, findings (such as mantraps) also suggest a fortificatory function.
HB3
The third site of main research within the urban area is the walled quarter HB3, to the southwest of the temple/palace city. Archaeological investigation focused on an entrance situation in the eastern wall facing towards the great main street of Karabalgasun. On four foundation stones a wooden gate construction can be assumed which regulated the traffic in and out the quarter in the 8th to 9th century.
HB4
In 2017, for the first time, an area outside the HB1-HB3 areas was partially excavated. While research has focused on HB1 and especially HB2, two areas that can be placed in the context of the exercise of power or were part of the sacred landscape, the new excavation areas should also provide insights into the simple inhabitants of Karabalgasun. The chronological development of the city is also of interest: the exposed position in the urban structure as well as radiocarbon dates suggest that HB1-HB3 were already part of the urban concept at the time of its foundation and were built in the mid 8th century - but when were the peripheral areas incorporated into the urban structure?
Therefore, in preparation for the excavation, an area 3.6 km south of the temple/palace town HB2 was selected on the laser scan plan, which is characterised by smaller enclosed areas. Within these enclosures, semicircular circular elevations appear in some places - presumably remnants of building pedestals, as they have been documented in several places at Karabalgasun. As an example of these structures, about a quarter of a rammed-earth platform was uncovered in the summer of 2017 . Surrounding this platform was an approximately 35 cm high facing wall of burnt bricks. Remains of screed and probable pits for column bases, one of which contained a fragment of granite, allow conclusions to be drawn about the interior of the building on the platform. The presence of a considerable number of roof tiles in the rubble layers above the former running level also suggests a roof, possibly of the Chinese type as in HB2, where decorated eaves tiles were also found.
In the summer of 2018, another of the semicircular rammed earth platforms was investigated, the so-called 'central building'. Here, too, decorated eaves and roof tiles came to light. In addition, various fragments of building decoration in the form of an animal mask, a marble lion and glazed figurative pottery were found. This material suggests that the building was of high importance.
HB5
In the summer of 2019, the project tested another approach to the large-scale investigation of the urban area. In the HB5 area, an area of 70,000 m² was systematically walked and finds were measured and documented. The same area was then surveyed using a probe to secure material lying a few centimetres below the surface and not visible to the naked eye. The material recovered consisted of pottery vessels, roof tiles, metal objects and worked stones. Outstanding among these were 75 gilded ornamental/lenticular nails and 39 bronze coins, mainly Chinese. There were also finely decorated fittings made of various metals.
The measurements of the finds were used to produce a powerful digital map showing the distribution of the material. For example, different concentrations of bricks can be used to trace building areas and boundaries.
