Burgut qalʼa

Burgut qalʼa — an ancient ruined city located in the Qirqqiz massif of the Toʻrtkoʻl district of Karakalpakstan, situated in the Burgut qalʼa depression and serving as its center. The monument’s history dates back to the VI–VIII centuries. It was considered one of the richest pre‑Islamic fortresses in the Khorezm region. The site was studied in 1937 by A. I. Terenojkin, in 1946 by the Khorezm archaeology‑ethnography expedition, and in 1953–1956 by Ye. Ye. Nerazik.

Currently Burgut qalʼa belongs to state ownership under the operational management authority of the Department of Cultural Heritage of the Republic of Karakalpakstan and was included in the national list of immovable objects of material cultural heritage and placed under state protection by the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan on 4 October 2019.

History and structure

The many other fortresses of the Burgut qalʼa depression vary in size and design, and were built facing the Bergut fortress. In the Burgut qalʼa depression, along an ancient canal, an area 25 kilometres long and 2–3 kilometres wide has been identified containing more than 800 solid fortresses and palaces. In the area from the Kyrgyz fortress in the north to the Teshik fortress in the south, small farmer fortresses and houses surrounded by high defensive walls with pointed holes every 100–200 metres were located. Researchers distinguish here fortified (the fortress building itself is called so), non‑fortified properties and separate structures, external forts or buildings constructed for some special purpose.

Burgut fortress consists of a citadel and a town. The citadel is square (100×100 m) and is surrounded by a mudbrick wall 2.5 m thick (height 10.5 m). On each side there are four two‑storey towers with decorative niches built on 2 m high buttresses. In the southeast of the citadel there is a defensive structure — a donjon (18×18 m). It is built on a mudbrick and brick buttress 8 m high. A narrow passage with a western entrance gate divides the building into two parts. Inside the citadel a dungeon and several rooms were opened. The town (area 5 ga) is surrounded by defensive walls reinforced with towers. The original external walls of Burgut fortress had the same thickness as the internal walls — only 90 cm. During reconstruction they were expanded so much that new walls contained a narrow circular passage directed to the south. The rebuilt fortress belongs to the 8th century. Here residential quarters, a market square, workshops were opened, from which clay vessels, Khwarezm copper bowls, stone seals, decorative items, weapons and other objects were found.