As noted by the director of the Samarkand Archaeological Institute, Muminkhon Saidov, the study of the origin and age of ancient Samarkand has been conducted for more than a century and a half. Initially, it was believed that the age of the city is about 1,500 years old. However, the data obtained in the 2000s during joint archaeological work allowed us to establish a preliminary dating of the foundation of Samarkand at 2,750 years. Recent discoveries and research have definitively confirmed the age of the city at least 3,000 years.
The key argument was the results of a re-analysis of the finds made during excavations in the archaeological zones of Kuktepa and Afrasiyab. The materials discovered during the excavations of Kuktepa (25 km from Samarkand) in 1993-2006 were particularly significant: mud walls, ceramics, animal bones and organic remains dating back to the 7th–4th centuries BC.
To clarify the chronology, the artifacts were sent for laboratory analysis to scientific institutions in France, Germany and Japan. The obtained results served as a scientific justification for the approval of the new age of Samarkand.
