Kunia-Uaz

Kunia-Uaz 

a site of a fortified town dating from the first millennium B.C. to the first centuries of the Common Era. It lies 45 km south of the city of Leninsk, Tashauz Raion, Turkmen SSR. It was investigated by the Khorezm Expedition under the leadership of S. P. Tolstov in 1952. The site (307 m X 307 m) is surrounded by a fortress wall of sun-dried brick. The city flourished between the first and fourth centuries A.D. Dating from this period are the ruins of a palace-type building, decorated with wall paintings and clay statues. One of the rooms revealed the remains of funerary vessels—statue ossuaries containing burials of deformed skulls and human bones. Also found was a small engraved bone plaque depicting an erotic scene; painted in many colors, it was skillfully executed (the first miniature of the third or fourth century found in Middle Asia). Numerous iron, bronze, glass, and ceramic articles characterize the culture and occupations of the people; the Iranian coins of Shapur I (middle of the third century) attest to the city’s trade relations.

E. E. NERAZIK