30 km downstream from Termez, Kampyr Tepe was a Macedonian town in Bactria, just north of the river Oxus, founded by Alexander the Great. It might have been the place were he crossed the river, and it was probably called Alexandria on the Oxus; Ai Khanum

30 km downstream from Termez, Kampyr Tepe was a Macedonian town in Bactria, just north of the river Oxus, founded by Alexander the Great. It might have been the place were he crossed the river, and it was probably called Alexandria on the Oxus; Ai Khanum on the Afghan-Tajik border is also a contender for the title, but evidence nowadays tilts the scales towards Kampyr Tepe.

Founded in the 4th century BCE, Macedonian, Graeco-Bactrian, and Kushan finds point to a Golden Age in the first and second centuries CE, under the rule of Kanishka the Great. Afterwards, the city was abandoned and never returned to after being flooded by the Oxus, thus revealing much about early city planning to archaeologists.

For a long time, the site was off-limits due to its proximity to the Afghan border. Nowadays, you can visit again to see what remains of this famed city. Visitors often rate Kampyr Tepe the most impressive archaeological site in the south of Uzbekistan. The 2500-year-old ruins consist of Hellenistic style fortifications, a residential area, trade suburbs and a port.

1972年苏联考古学家在铁尔梅兹以西30公里的卡姆皮尔秋别（Kampyr-Tepe，又常拼写为Kampir-Tepe，这个地方又被称为Kafir-Qala，意思是“异教徒城堡”），发现一处有浓郁贵霜文化色彩的古城遗址。古城位于阿姆河北岸的黄土高台上，南北都是陡峭险峻的深沟，北边有城墙遗迹。研究者如E.V.Rtveladze立即把这处遗址与米诺尔斯基所说的Pardagvi古客舍城联系起来。1979年对这个遗址进行了试掘，1982年开始全面发掘，到苏联解体之前，该古城遗址绝大部分都已完成发掘和研究，考古学家认定这是一座贵霜全盛时期的渡口城市，就是Hafiz-i Abru所记的Pardagvi古客舍城。

我们在铁尔梅兹的第四天，来到卡姆皮尔秋别。第一眼就被那复原后的北城墙所震撼，城墙上多至两排的、贵霜特有的箭簇形窗户（或射击孔）给人深刻印象。进入城墙，烈日下难分形状的黄土建筑，干燥又寂静的远近地貌，满地码放、用以复原古城的新造土砖，让人很难想象这里曾是古代巴克特里亚地区最繁荣、最古老的渡口。古城遗址由城区、城堡、城外居民区、墓葬区和宗教祭祀区组成。我们在城堡区坍塌叠压的断裂带，看到许多深埋入土的巨大陶瓮。这种大陶瓮在某些大概是库房的房间整齐排列，不知道用以盛葡萄酒还是盛谷物。

客舍城遗址巨大的陶瓮

站在城堡顶部平台上，向南俯瞰阿姆河河谷，绿色田野如一面布幔向东向西缓缓伸展，包裹住南边那一缕灰蓝色的阿姆河。由于阿姆河河道明显向南摆动，原河道所在靠近古城遗址的地带成了肥沃的农田。可以说，这个遗址已远离阿姆河，完全不适合当作渡口了。不知道这一变化始于何时，也不知道这是不是该渡口失去主渡口地位的原因。研究者认为，这个渡口的最早年代可能比青铜时代还要早，而古城遗址则属于公元前4世纪至公元前1世纪的建筑遗存，全盛期在贵霜帝国的迦腻色伽一世之时。这意味着在漫长的时期内，此地都是本地区最主要的渡口。由前引Hafiz-i Abru的那段话来看，在依托先知岛的铁尔梅兹古城渡口崛起的过程中，这个“客舍城”古渡口仍在使用，两者间存在明显的竞争关系。可以肯定的一点是，正是由于在竞争中表现出越来越明显的优势，才有了铁尔梅兹古城的繁荣，以及客舍城的衰落与废弃。