Draft:Ayritom

Ayritom is an ancient hillfort located in Uzbekistan, 18 km east of Termez on the steep bank of the Amu Darya. It is one of the most interesting monuments of Central Asian antiquity.

Studies conducted in the 1930s by the Termez Archaeological Expedition and in the 1960s by the Uzbekistan Art History Expedition of the Institute of Art History named after Hamza showed that this place was a large settlement that existed here for several centuries (late II-I century BC - III-IV centuries AD). Its strategic importance was determined first of all by the fact that it was connected with the ancient crossing of the Amu Darya.

The main excavations were carried out on the largest hillock in the western part of the city. In 1932-1933, the famous sculptural frieze depicting musicians, now exhibited in the Hermitage Museum, was found here.

Excavations showed that the layers of the hillock below contain the remains of a monumental building with pahsa walls. Its construction began during the decline of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom, probably in the third quarter of the 2nd century BC, but was not completed. The building included more than ten rooms and most likely served as a fortress structure to protect the crossing area.

Ayritom flourished during the reign of the Kushans; during the same period Buddhism penetrated the right bank of the Amu Darya. Under the Kushan rulers, the ruins of the fort were levelled, the rooms were filled with sand and clay, and a thick layer of greenish clay was applied on top. Above it, the structures of a Buddhist cult complex, which included a sanctuary, stupas and a number of outbuildings, were erected from raw brick. Remains of walls three or four rows high of raw brick have come down to us from these buildings.

The Ayritom inscription is the first Bactrian monumental inscription found on the territory of right-bank Bactria. The significance of this monument is also determined by the fact that it has a date and contains information that allows us to judge about some stages of the construction of the cult complex in Ayritom.

The inscription has survived only partially - the text has been badly damaged by the destruction of the surface of the pedestal. The upper half of the pedestal, where the inscription is located, was not securely covered with earth for a long time, and water penetrating here eroded the surface of the stone. The left edge of the pedestal, where the initial parts of the lines are located, has suffered most of all. Several large lacunas in the text were apparently caused by damage to the surface of the pedestal when the sculpture block was moved.