| Summary: | The fortified site of Kyzyltepa in the Surkhandarya Valley of southern Uzbekistan is one of the largest Iron Age settlements in northern Bactria. The site consists of a monumental public building, referred to as the Citadel, and a lower city surrounded by a circumferential wall equipped with projecting towers. Recent excavations have clarified the site's spatial organization and occupation history. The work has revealed five occupation levels overall and four building phases within the Citadel. The excavations correct the earlier assumption that the site was founded in the pre-Achaemenid period and continued to be occupied until the Achaemenid period. The new excavations suggest that the site was established in the Achaemenid period and that it was abandoned during the early Hellenistic period. The work also reveals that the Citadel and the fortification system at the site were built in phases, rather than at one time, as previously thought. The presence of both Achaemenid and Hellenistic levels, as well as the site's location and its peculiar building history, make Kyzyltepa unique. The excavations clearly show for the first time the stratigraphic transition from the Achaemenid to early Hellenistic period in ancient Bactria.
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