Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a lost medieval city beneath the surface of Lake Issyk Kul in Kyrgyzstan. A recent underwater survey revealed a Muslim cemetery, public buildings, streets, and structures hidden under just a few yards of water. The team believes that a powerful earthquake in the early 1400s pushed this settlement into the lake, preserving its history.
The city’s remains were discovered along the northwestern shore of the lake, where divers mapped walls, collapsed buildings, and wooden beams while underwater drones filmed every stone for later analysis on shore. The research focuses on submerged medieval settlements in Central Asia and the technologies that make it possible to record them in detail.
The new season expands the team’s map of the city, adding a burial ground and more structures to a medieval landscape that is finally becoming legible again. Archaeologists believe that Issyk Kul was once a sizable city or trading center along a major route of the Silk Road. They view the shoreline ruins as part of an active commercial district tied closely to regional trade.
The team has identified four zones of discovery, including a necropolis with graves dating back to the 1200s and 1300s. The graves show signs of Muslim burial practices, pointing to a community that followed Islamic traditions.
Documenting and sampling the site will allow researchers to study diet, ancestry, and everyday life in a medieval Silk Road community before it disappears. The discovery provides valuable insights into the history of Central Asia and the spread of Islam in the region.
The research is part of UNESCO’s Silk Roads Programme, which aims to preserve cultural heritage along the ancient caravan routes. By combining underwater surveys, historical texts, and laboratory dates, the researchers are slowly turning a blurred legend of a sunken city into a mapped medieval settlement that will eventually reveal streets, religious buildings, workshops, and graves that once formed a living town on the Silk Road.
Source: https://www.earth.com/news/lost-medieval-city-emerges-beneath-lake-issyk-kul-after-sinking-600-years-ago