Given the assumption that the köshks were elite residences and that each might have been surrounded by formal garden space, then we might expect to see established gardens, with regular (?rectangular) boundary walls and internal pavilions, water features, ponds and suchlike.
On the aerial images the area around the Greater Kyz Kala is perhaps the most promising. In terms of modern landuse, it is largely agricultural, with clear soil and crop marks, although the area to the north and north-west is occupied by rather disturbed scrub land and modern roads. It is certainly tempting to see a structured landscape in the aerial images; perhaps reflecting enclosure walls, water features and small buildings (Fig. 65 - opens GIS).
It seems likely that other such managed landscapes existed within the area, for example to the south around the Lesser Kyz Kala, but at present the imagery is not capable of producing sufficient definition to resolve the organisation of the space. Geophysical survey is planned.
© Internet Archaeology/Author(s)
URL: http://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue25/1/9_5_2.html
Last updated: Mon Sept 29 2008