塔吉克斯坦片治肯特古城Ancient PenjikentName of individual Silk Roads component part: Ancient PenjikentBrief description of the object-component:The town of Ancient Penjikent consists of an arch with three belts of fortifications, shakhristan, enclosed by a fortress

塔吉克斯坦片治肯特古城Ancient Penjikent

1. Name of individual Silk Roads component part: Ancient Penjikent

Brief description of the object-component:

The town of Ancient Penjikent consists of an arch with three belts of fortifications, shakhristan, enclosed by a fortress wall and a necropolis. It belongs to the V - VIII cc. AD. The palace complex had a stateroom, amenity and residential buildings. A large throne hall (250 m2) and three almost equally sized halls belonged to the stateroom. The central part of shakhristan was occupied by two temples with a similar layout. Its main part is an extensive residential area with shops, stalls etc. The two-and three-storied houses made of mud brick and pakhsi were located inside of the city. There were ground-building burial vaults - nauses with ossuary graves, also known as burial in the hum, the graves in the city cemetery. In 722 the town was captured and burned by the Arabs. The outstanding feature of the Ancient Penjikent is its monumental art - wall painting, volume and relief sculpture of wood and clay.

Statement of authenticity and/or integrity of the individual component property

The studies of the site have been conducted from 1938. The site is considered as the cultural heritage of national importance. The staff of Penjikent historical and cultural conservancy under The Science Academy of the Republic of Tajikistan, (established in 14/04/1974) is responsible for the protection of the site. The total area of the site is 23 hectares.

Comparison of the Silk Roads component property: why selected against SoOUV (including explanation of why other similar sites not selected

The Penjikent arch looks like Varkhash arch in plans.
The clearest feature of the ancient town Penjikent is its monumental art, which is preserved better to a greater extent than in other monuments of Central Asia. The variety of subjects Penjikent painting surpasses all that is known in other monuments. It is characterized by ornamental, brightness, special beauty canon, ethnography of details transmission.