Archaeologists, using remote sensing technology, have discovered the remains of two medieval cities in the mountains of eastern Uzbekistan.
Historians say that this could change both our understanding of the Silk Roads and of Central Asia on the whole.
Tugunbulak and Tashbuluk were lively cities in the Turkish-controlled Middle Ages (between the 8th and 11th centuries).
Tashbulak, the smaller city, contains burial sites, thousands of pottery shards and other signs of population.
Tugunbulak, a metropolis spanning at least 120 hectares, sat more than 2,000m above sea level, reports the BBC.
Only 3% of the world’s population live above this altitude today – classic examples are in Tibet and Peru.
The remote-sensing tool in question is a lidar, which uses reflected light to create three-dimensional mappings of the environment. Drones were also used.
The lidar sensor unveiled walls, guard towers, elaborate architecture and various fortifications.
Production kilns suggest that the wind structures so high up would have been a tactical aspect of ironmaking communities. But the altitude, vulnerable to flash floods and avalanches, made long-term settlement there unfeasible.
Historical records do allude to cities existing in the region, but such an astounding scope was unexpected, particularly given how remote and difficult to access the locations were even for contemporary explorers.
Academic communities were reluctant to immediately accept a finding of such proportions – the magnitude of which is hard to take in.
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