The regional Kengash of people's deputies of the Samarkand region has decided to increase the official age of the ancient city from 2750 to 3000 years. This was reported by the UzA news agency.

The revision of the age became possible thanks to the work of a scientific group that conducted large-scale archaeological research on key monuments in the region. Particular attention was paid to excavations on the territory of Afrosiab, Kuktepa and in the area of the former fortress of Amir Temur on Kuksaroy Square.

The most significant results were brought by excavations at Kuktepa, which convincingly showed that Samarkand began to form as a large urban center already at the beginning of the 1st millennium BC. These findings became a decisive factor in adjusting the age of the city.

The history of determining the age of Samarkand demonstrates the constant development of archaeological science. Initially, it was believed that the city was about 1500 years old, then this figure was increased to 2000 years. In 1970, the age was estimated at 2500 years, and in the 2000s, a joint Uzbek-French archaeological expedition set the age at 2750 years. The latest finds in 2024 provided sufficient grounds for another adjustment of this figure.

The director of the Samarkand Institute of Archaeology, Muminkhon Saidov, confirmed that the process of urbanization in the region actually began at the end of the 2nd – beginning of the 1st millennium BC, which is fully consistent with the new assessment of the city’s age.

All materials from the excavations will be transferred to relevant ministries and scientific institutions for further research and systematization of the obtained data.