The Ancient City of Karon is an archaeological site located 1 km to the east of Ruzvay settlement, Darvoz District of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region, a vast province dominated by the Pamir Mountains. It is situated on the mountain Zogik and is surrounded by the Panj River to the east, south, and west. 

The archaeological site covering over 45 ha contains the remains of the city of Karon and is dated from the Bronze Age to the 17th century CE. The archaeological excavations that have been conducted at the site since 2012 have unearthed several unique structures, interpreted as a Zoroastrian tower-temple, Doytiya (Panj) river temple, astrological room, chavgan (polo) game field, a palace, a custom post, fortifications, and burials. 

Based on written sources that first mention Karon in the 9th century CE, the city became the capital of a kingdom of the same name on the territory of the Darvoz in the Middle Ages. The prosperity of Karon came from the mining of gold and the control of the regional trade networks. The city has a convenient location, from which it controlled the caravan route of the Silk Roads along the Panj River to Rushan, Khorog, and Ishkoshim, and further east to China and India. By the early 17th century, the population of Karon moved to Kalai Khumb, the present center of Darvoz, 12 km downstream the Panj River. It was related to the reduction of water resources from the local mountain spring and the decline of the Silk Roads.  

Standing at the gates of the Pamirs, Karon is the place where the western branch of the human habitation and settlement of these mountains passed through. Its size and grandeur suggest that in the past, Karon was a capital city and controlled the regional networks of the Silk Roads. It is a key archaeological site not only providing the answers to the history of the Darvaz, the Pamirs, and the Gorno-Badakhshan regions, but also covering the issues of urban development in the mountainous regions of Central Asia. From the size of the archaeological site, it is considered that Karon was a medium-sized city. Such settlements are extremely rare in the highlands of Central Asia, where the lifestyle has been essentially rural.

Criterion (ii): the heritage of Karon exhibits an important interchange of human values in the Pamir mountains over 2000 years, on the developments in architecture and urban planning covering Bronze-Age, Achaemenid, Kushan, Samanid, Timurid, and Sheibanid periods.

Criterion (iv): the preserved earthquake-resistant structures of Karon that were made of large volcanic or slate stones on clay mortar with juniper logs and, in some cases, burned brick represent an outstanding example of a traditional architecture widespread in the Pamir Mountains region in the Timurid period. 

Criterion (v): the land-use and water-use practices in the Ancient City of Karon, reflected in the complex fortifications and engineering system of water supply, are an outstanding example of human adaptation to the high mountain environment.  

The Ancient City of Karon is a designated cultural heritage property with its territory and buffer zone being protected by the state. All attributes that convey potential Outstanding Universal Value are preserved and well-documented. Their dynamic functions are well retained. The territory of the archaeological site includes all elements necessary to express its Outstanding Universal Value and represent the significance of the property.