Teikyo University Silk Road Academic Research Team
We are investigating the culture and history of the Silk Road
In April 2016, we formed "Teikyo University Silk Road Academic Research Team" centered on faculty members of the Research Institute of Cultural Properties and the Faculty of Liberal Arts in Teikyo Univesity for the purpose of academic research on the Silk Road, which is a path of exchange of civilizations through the Eurasian Continent from east to west. The research theme of the "Teikyo University Silk Road Academic Research Team" is to elucidate the lives, history, and culture of people at that time through the excavation of the Ak Besim site, which was one of the base cities along the Silk Road. In addition, research on how the people who live there now, as well as in the past, have lived in the natural environment of the land is also a major research theme.
Kyrgyzstan Republic
Kyrgyzstan Republic is a republic of the former Soviet Union located in Central Asia. More than two-thirds of the country is covered with mountains above 3000 m above sea level, the Tian Shan Mountains extend along the border with China, and the Pamir Plateau extends toward Tajikistan, which is located in the south. From this high mountain and the long and narrow terrain from east to west, people enjoy various climates, scenery and plants.
Ak Besim Ruins
The Ak-Besim site, formerly known as Suyyab, is an extremely rare site in Central Asia where two cities are located next to each other. On the west side of the city (1st Shahristan), which is believed to have been built by the Sogdians, a people who traded on the Silk Road, and on the east side of the city (2nd Shahristan), which was built by the Tang Dynasty in China, is located the "Saiyouzhen Castle" (2nd Shahristan). It is said that Xuanzang, who was on a quest to India, visited "Suiyabu Castle," now called the 1st Shafristan, around 630, and it is also assumed to be the birthplace of Li Bai, a poet of the Tang Dynasty in China.
Survey on the Kyrgyz Republic -Nature Edition- Teikyo University Silk Road Academic Research Team Introducing the state of Kyrgyz Republic research. This video is also available in English, Chinese and Russian.
Survey on the Kyrgyz Republic - Nature Edition
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2019 first survey
From April to May 2019, we conducted the 7th Ak Besim (Suyab) archaeological survey in total. In the first Shafristan, the street and the buildings lined up on both sides of it were found, and the appearance of the city built by the Sogdo people became clear. In the second Shafristan, the site of the "Saiyochin Castle, one of the four towns of Anzai, we found several foundations of a large building that is the key to revealing the structure of the city where was the military base. In addition, many earthenware, animal bones, and plant seeds were found in the former garbage holes.
State of past excavation
The Teikyo University Silk Road Academic Research Team conducted a field survey from June to July and October to November 2015 as the first survey. After that, in 2016, a total of three surveys were conducted to discover various archaeological materials. In the first survey in May 2017, we found a large number of roof tiles that are believed to be from the latter half of the 7th century. Owing to this discovery, we confirmed that the "Saiyochin Castle", the westernmost military base built by the Tang dynasty of the Chinese dynasty on the Silk Road at that time, existed here. In the April-May 2018 survey, excavations continued in 1st Shafristan and 2nd Shafristan. At the site of "Saiyochin Castle", one of the Anseichin, which was a military and administrative base for the western expansion of Tang, we found a part of the stone paved remains and buildings estimated to be from the latter half of the 7th century.
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Multilingual version
Teikyo University Silk Road Academic Survey Team Kyrgyz Republic Survey -Excavation of Archaeological Sites 2019- is available in English, Chinese, and Russian.
