The Institute of Fine Arts presents its second Ancient Seminar with Sören Stark:
“Next to Turquoise Domes: Archaeological Investigations in the City of Bukhara.”
An In-Person and Virtual Lecture*. Advance registration is required.
In partnership with NYU ArchaeoHub, the Ancient Seminar is delighted to present the second in a series of talks on archaeological projects across the university.
The city of Bukhara was once a key node along the fabled “Silk Roads.” Yet, compared to other Central Asian cities of comparable importance, the systematic archaeological investigation of Bukhara lags considerably behind. This is now rapidly changing thanks to excavations conducted since 2020 by the Uzbek-American Expedition to Bukhara, co-directed by Jamal K. Mirzaakhmedov and the presenter in a recently cleared area of ca. 0.8 ha next to the city’s citadel and congregational mosque.
Five extensive seasons of archaeological fieldwork have yielded a veritable treasure trove of new information about Bukhara’s long and complex history. This presentation will introduce new data derived from finds and observations made at a series of fortifications, various kinds of dwellings, workshops, as well as burial contexts – all encountered in the excavation area. They speak to a wide range of historical phenomena and problems, such as the potential existence of a Seleucid military colony in the area of the later city during the 3rd century BCE, the roots and stages of Bukhara’s urban growth as an important node within the Sogdiana trading networks during Late Antiquity (3rd to 8th centuries CE), transcontinental connections during the city’s heyday under the Samanid dynasty during the 10th century, and the health status of the urban populace at the eve of the Mongol invasion (late 12th/early 13th century).
Sören Stark is Professor of Central Asian Archaeology at NYU’s Institute for the Study of the Ancient World. He received his PhD in 2005 at the University Halle-Wittenberg (Germany) with a dissertation on the history and archaeology of Turk Empire in Central Eurasia between the 6th and 8th centuries CE. His publications include two monographs, an exhibition catalogue, and more than 70 single and co-authored articles and book chapters. He is co-editor of Brill’s Handbook of Oriental Studies, Section 8: Uralic & Central Asian Studies (HO8), and member of the advisory board for the journals Studies in Late Antiquity, Silk Roads Archaeology and Heritage, and O’zbekiston Arxeologiyasi (Archaeology of Uzbekistan).
Stark has more than twenty years of experience in co-directing archaeological fieldwork in Central Asia (Tajikistan and Uzbekistan). Since 2011 he hass co-directed the Uzbek-American Expedition to Bukhara, which is currently conducting multidisciplinary investigations at the Final Bronze Age site of Kimirek-kum 1 in the relict delta of the Zerafshan river (now part of the Kyzyl-kum desert), and in the old city center of Bukhara, exploring contexts dating between the late Achaemenid period and the Mongol invasion. His previous fieldwork in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan focused on Bronze Age petroglyphs, Iron Age kurgans, early medieval fortresses, and pre-Mongol high-mountain settlements.
This talk is part of the 2024-2025 NYU ArchaeoHub Lecture Series. Each year we invite three members of our NYU archaeological community to speak about their current projects. These talks take place across units—one each at ISAW, the IFA, and Arts and Science, in an effort to build connections and create shared conversations around innovations in the field that speak across disciplines, geographies and timescales. We also invite one internationally renowned speaker from beyond our campus, who works in an area not currently represented by our faculty and whose vision encourages further innovation on our campus.
NYU ArchaeoHub is a University-Wide Initiative that links the university’s archaeological resources, including people, projects, lab equipment, events and educational opportunities. Our research cluster connects over 60 faculty and staff members, Research Associates and doctoral students working at multiple Centers, Institutes and Departments across NYU. Collaboration being a key feature of the hub, we foster cross-pollination and collaboration on field projects on 4 continents and in 20 countries, analyzing the human condition amidst the natural landscape over more than 16,000 years of sociocultural practice.
*The program will be presented onsite at the James B. Duke House and live-streamed. Please note we have transitioned from Zoom to a new, web-based live-streaming platform for our events. You can now access our public programs directly through your browser. Kindly RSVP below to receive the live stream link.