Sarazm (Tajik: Саразм) is an ancient town and a jamoat in north-western Tajikistan. It dates back to around 4,000 BC. Carbon-14 dating shows the site was used from about 3,900 BC to 2,100 BC. Today, it is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The jamoat is part of the city of Panjakent in Sughd Region and had a population of 27,877 people in 2015. It includes 21 villages, such as Chimqal'a (the main village), Abdusamad, Bostondeh, Kamar, Kamar-Tash, and Sohibnazar.

The archaeological site of the ancient city of Sarazm is near Sohibnazar, a village on the left side of the Zeravshan River, close to the border with Uzbekistan. The Sarazm culture existed long before the Andronovo steppe culture arrived in South Central Asia around 2,000 BC.

Archeology

The site is located 15 kilometers west of Panjakent and covers an area about 1.5 kilometers long and between 400 to 900 meters wide. At its peak, the site covered up to 90 hectares, with 35 hectares remaining open and unobstructed.

This location is important to archaeologists because it represents the first known early agricultural society in Central Asia. It is also the northernmost of these early agricultural settlements. Sarazm was the first city in Central Asia to trade with a network of settlements spanning a large area, including the Turkmenistan steppes, the Aral Sea, the Iranian Plateau, and the Indus region.

The site was first studied in 1977 by Abdullah Isakov of the Tajikistan Academy of Science. During this first excavation, eight soundings were made in different areas, and three locations were fully explored. In 1987, seven areas were excavated, and twenty soundings were conducted.

Research on the site involved partnerships between Tajikistan and international teams. A major collaboration began in 1984 between French and Tajik researchers. In 1985, the French research group, the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS), signed a three-year agreement with the Tajik Academy of Science. This partnership continued until 1998, when the focus shifted to preserving the site. Most scientific analysis of materials from the site was done by the CNRS in France. The French team was led by R. Besenval, R. Lyonnet (ceramology), and F. Cesbron (mineralogy).

In 1985, two American professors, P.L. Kohl (Wellesley College) and C.C. Lamberg-Karlovsky (Harvard), participated in an archaeological expedition organized as part of a joint program between the USSR and the United States.

The site has four distinct layers of occupation, each separated by long periods when the area was not used. These layers, named Sarazm I, II, III, and IV, were identified during the first excavations. The total depth of deposits across about a millennium of use ranges from 1.5 to 2 meters. Not all four layers are found in every location, suggesting the settlement moved over time.

The exact dates of the layers are uncertain, but most experts agree that the site was first occupied around the first half of the 4th millennium BC. Initial dating was done using radiocarbon analysis.

In 1985, the American-USSR mission recalibrated these dates using results from the Leningrad laboratory. The French mission also conducted radiocarbon dating during excavation VII.

Timeline details were confirmed by cultural artifacts linked to other known cultures. For example, the presence of Turkmen clay shards from the Namazga II and III periods and Togau ceramics from Baluchistan suggests the site was occupied from the first half of the 4th millennium BC to the second half of the 3rd millennium BC.

After the first excavation, Isakov concluded that the people of Sarazm practiced agriculture, herding, and metallurgy. Metal items such as daggers, awls, chisels, axes, and decorative pieces were found in layers II, III, and IV. Evidence suggests metal was worked in Sarazm using techniques similar to those in Mesopotamia, the Iranian Plateau, and the Indus Valley.

Some researchers believe Sarazm was the largest metallurgical center in Central Asia around 3000 BC.

Ceramics found at Sarazm indicate trade connections with the Iranian Plateau, Northern Baluchistan, and Turkmenistan. For example, pottery from the Bronze Age cultures of Seistan and Baluchistan has been discovered.

Agriculture was supported by irrigation systems that used water from the Zerafshan River and mountain sources. Wheat and barley (both naked and hulled) were found, but no evidence of broomcorn millet or pulses was discovered. The naked barley found at Sarazm resembles barley from sites in Pakistan and China. The people also raised cattle, sheep, and goats, focusing on secondary products like milk, wool, and leather.

The Sarazm III period marked the peak of the city’s economy, with improved building techniques and specialized crafts such as pottery (using a newly invented slow-rotating wheel) and advanced metallurgy.

The city may have been revived as a mining center to collect nearby turquoise. The Zerafshan Valley is rich in minerals like gold, silver, galena, copper, tin, and mercury. The town likely mined and processed these resources.

Most excavated structures appear to be multi-room homes, but some buildings may have served communal purposes. These buildings had clear plans, regular bricks, and walls sometimes coated with colored paint. Two main construction methods were used: sun-dried, molded bricks and hand-shaped earth.

The Sarazm I layer was heavily damaged by later layers and has not been studied thoroughly. Buildings from the second period had narrow passageways connecting homes to courtyards with bread ovens. Floors during the Sarazm III period were often burned. Some buildings had large hearths, possibly used for religious or ceremonial purposes.

Fortifications were found during excavation II.

Burial sites were circular, 15 meters in diameter, surrounded by walls. Valuables like pottery and beads were found in some burial chambers. A large necropolis remains undiscovered.

Anthropologist Khodzhaiov concluded that the people of Sarazm originated from southern Central Asia and Southwest Asia, sharing genetic links with populations at other Eneolithic sites in Turkmenistan (Göksür and Qara-depe).

At its peak, Sarazm was economically prosperous and produced richly decorated pottery with patterns like circles, crosses, triangles, lines, and nets painted in red, yellow, and blue. Rosette designs on ceramics may indicate knowledge of the solar calendar.

Terracotta statues of women and animals with magical powers were also found, showing an emerging trend in sculpture.

Religious beliefs of the Sarazm people are unclear, but altars with sacred fires have been discovered.

Sarazm appears to be connected to the Göksür culture through migration patterns in the region.

World Heritage Site status

The early city site of Sarazm was added to the World Heritage List in July 2010 as "an archaeological site showing evidence of human settlements in Central Asia from the 4th millennium BCE to the end of the 3rd millennium BCE." It is the first World Heritage Site in Tajikistan.

To protect the site, some areas are covered with a metal roof, and others are buried under soil. With the help of local people and the CRATerre research institute, a protective layer made of rice husks and stabilized earth has been created to cover fragile areas that were previously uncovered.

• Stone seal, from Sarazm, mid-2nd millennium BCE. Tajikistan National Antiquities Museum, Dushanbe, SZM Y-137.
• Sceptre from Sarazm, second half of the 3rd millennium BCE.
• Arrow points, 4th–3rd millennium BCE.
• Handled stone or weight from Sarazm, 4th–3rd millennia BCE.
• Bronze axe head from Sarazm, second half of the 3rd millennium BCE. Tajikistan National Antiquities Museum, Dushanbe, P 1147/525.