TORU‑AYGYR, Kyrgyzstan: Volunteer diver Elizaveta Bodrova and a team of around 20 scientists are exploring the cold waters of Lake Issyk‑Kul, where the remains of a once‑thriving city have lain hidden for roughly 800 years. Situated on an ancient trade corridor between China and Europe, the settlement offers new clues about Central Asia’s history.
The expedition, launched in 2024 with funding from the Russian Academy of Sciences, marks the first large‑scale investigation of the site since its 19th‑century rediscovery. “The visibility isn’t very good today, but I hope we’ll still be able to find the boundary of the settlement,” Bodrova told AFP before plunging from a motorboat into the depths.
Expedition leader Maxim Menshikov describes the ruins as “a blind spot in history,” despite their central location in Central Asia. “It is a very important chapter in human history because it was the period that linked East and West during the Middle Ages. The Silk Road is not merely the history of a single region, it is the history of Eurasia as a whole,” he noted.
The settlement lay at the heart of the Silk Road trade network that connected China to the Mediterranean from the 2nd century BC until the mid‑15th century. During its occupation, the route passing through the site is believed to have been controlled by the Karakhanids, a Turkic dynasty that dominated much of Central Asia from the 9th to early 13th centuries. Researchers estimate the city may have spanned up to five square kilometres, though its name and population remain unknown.
Accurate dating has proved challenging. However, two cemeteries uncovered at the site suggest construction during the early Islamisation of the region. Among the finds is a decorated public building, possibly a mosque, bathhouse, or religious school.
After several hours scanning the lakebed, the divers retrieved animal bones and pottery shards. “The bones will let us determine diet and age of the remains, as well as the diet of the people who lived here,” explained Viktor Pozdnyakov, a diver and laboratory assistant on the team. “The pottery will enable us to date the finds more precisely and to understand where and how it was produced,” the 22‑year‑old added.
Back at base, the artifacts are carefully preserved, catalogued, and documented. One notable piece is a child’s chamber pot, called a “tuvaq.” “These are still in use today in Central Asia and the Caucasus, providing a glimpse into daily life in the ancient city,” noted Menshikov.
Although known to scholars since the 19th century, systematic exploration of the site has only begun in recent years through collaborative Russian and Kyrgyz teams. The researchers hope their work will deepen understanding of Central Asian history.
“You could compare this research to that of Pompeii,” said Menshikov, referencing the well‑preserved Roman city buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. “They had a highly developed civilisation and culture. And in an instant, nature simply destroyed it all.”
The cause of the city’s submersion remains a mystery. Theories include a landslide that plunged the settlement to the lake’s floor or a gradual flooding caused by a “tectonic dam”—a natural barrier formed after an earthquake. Andrei Strelnikov, a geologist with the Russian Academy of Sciences, suggests the most likely scenario was a “past seismic disaster.”
