Archaeologists investigating the medieval city of Kesken-Kuyuk in southern Kazakhstan have uncovered new buildings, multiple phases of construction and a series of altar sites. The discoveries are providing new evidence about a major urban centre that may be the city of Huvara mentioned in medieval sources.
The latest excavations have focused on the citadel of Kesken-Kuyuk, an extensive archaeological site in the Kazaly district of Kazakhstan’s Kyzylorda Region. Researchers have identified six building structures, evidence for several phases of rebuilding and five successive levels of altar sites within one room.
A particularly well-preserved coin was also discovered within one of the building layers. Further examination of the find and its archaeological context could help researchers establish a more precise chronology for this part of the settlement. The archaeological project is being carried out by RUTRUM with financial support from the Society for the Exploration of EurAsia. The work in Kazakhstan is led by archaeologist Dmitry Voyakin.
A large medieval city
Kesken-Kuyuk is located in the lower Syr Darya region, an area that supported several important settlements during the medieval period. Although the latest excavations are revealing previously unknown parts of the city, the archaeological site itself has been known for decades.
It was first investigated by the Khorezm Archaeological-Ethnographic Expedition led by Sergei Tolstov in 1946, with further research taking place during the 1960s and under later Kazakh archaeological projects. RUTRUM archaeologists began new excavations at the site in 2019.
Kazakhstan’s official register of historical and cultural monuments dates Kesken-Kuyuk to approximately the seventh through tenth centuries, although archaeological research indicates that occupation of the site may have extended over a longer period.
The settlement was heavily fortified and included a citadel, shahristan, or central urban area, and rabad, the area outside the principal fortified centre. Kesken-Kuyuk was a substantial settlement, larger than nearby Zhankent, another important medieval centre associated with the Oghuz, a Turkic tribal confederation.
Excavations at the medieval city of Kesken-Kuyuk in Kazakhstan’s Kyzylorda Region. Archaeologists have been investigating the citadel and its surviving mud-brick structures. Photo courtesy Kazaly District Culture Department.
Researchers have used geodetic surveying, 3D scanning, photogrammetry and aerial photography to investigate the site. Earlier excavations have also produced ceramics, arrowheads, objects made from bone and metal, glass beads, bronze earrings and rings, buckles and animal remains.
Archaeologists have excavated a structure interpreted as a temple dating from the ninth and tenth centuries. Previous investigations revealed ritual features and altars, making the newly identified sequence of five altar levels particularly significant for understanding how these spaces changed over time.
Was Kesken-Kuyuk the medieval city of Huvara?
The remains of mud-brick walls uncovered at Kesken-Kuyuk, a major medieval settlement in southern Kazakhstan. Photo courtesy Kazaly District Culture Department.
One of the larger questions surrounding the site is its possible identification with Huvara, a city mentioned in historical sources. Researchers have increasingly connected Kesken-Kuyuk with Huvara, and archaeological discoveries have added evidence to that hypothesis. In 2025, Voyakin reported that coins minted at Huvara had been discovered at Kesken-Kuyuk.
The coins potentially provide an important clue to a longstanding historical problem. Medieval written sources mention Huvara, but researchers have struggled to determine where the city was located.
The identification remains a subject for continuing archaeological investigation, but the size of Kesken-Kuyuk and the discoveries made there demonstrate that it was an important medieval urban centre.
Recent research has also begun examining the environment that supported the city. Archaeologists and specialists have investigated its irrigation system and how inhabitants managed water in a landscape shaped by the Syr Darya and the changing environment around the Aral Sea.
The citadel has become a particular focus of investigation. During the 2025 field season, archaeologists opened a new excavation area in the elevated part of the settlement interpreted as the citadel. They documented walls, floors, platforms, ritual features and several construction phases.
Archaeologists working at Kesken-Kuyuk, where the latest investigations have revealed several phases of construction within the medieval settlement. Photo courtesy Kazaly District Culture Department.
The newly announced results are adding considerably more detail to that picture. The six structures and successive altar levels suggest that buildings within the citadel were repeatedly altered over the course of the city’s history.
Archaeologists are continuing their analysis of the discoveries in an effort to establish a more precise chronology for Kesken-Kuyuk. Further investigation of the site could provide a clearer picture of urban life, religious practices and cultural connections in this part of medieval Central Asia.
Top Image: Excavated structures at the medieval city of Kesken-Kuyuk in Kazakhstan. Recent work on the citadel has revealed six building structures, several phases of reconstruction and five successive levels of altar sites. Photo courtesy Kazaly District Culture Department.
Archaeologists investigating the medieval city of Kesken-Kuyuk in southern Kazakhstan have uncovered new buildings, multiple phases of construction and a series of altar sites. The discoveries are providing new evidence about a major urban centre that may be the city of Huvara mentioned in medieval sources.
The latest excavations have focused on the citadel of Kesken-Kuyuk, an extensive archaeological site in the Kazaly district of Kazakhstan’s Kyzylorda Region. Researchers have identified six building structures, evidence for several phases of rebuilding and five successive levels of altar sites within one room.
A particularly well-preserved coin was also discovered within one of the building layers. Further examination of the find and its archaeological context could help researchers establish a more precise chronology for this part of the settlement. The archaeological project is being carried out by RUTRUM with financial support from the Society for the Exploration of EurAsia. The work in Kazakhstan is led by archaeologist Dmitry Voyakin.
A large medieval city
Kesken-Kuyuk is located in the lower Syr Darya region, an area that supported several important settlements during the medieval period. Although the latest excavations are revealing previously unknown parts of the city, the archaeological site itself has been known for decades.
It was first investigated by the Khorezm Archaeological-Ethnographic Expedition led by Sergei Tolstov in 1946, with further research taking place during the 1960s and under later Kazakh archaeological projects. RUTRUM archaeologists began new excavations at the site in 2019.
Kazakhstan’s official register of historical and cultural monuments dates Kesken-Kuyuk to approximately the seventh through tenth centuries, although archaeological research indicates that occupation of the site may have extended over a longer period.
The settlement was heavily fortified and included a citadel, shahristan, or central urban area, and rabad, the area outside the principal fortified centre. Kesken-Kuyuk was a substantial settlement, larger than nearby Zhankent, another important medieval centre associated with the Oghuz, a Turkic tribal confederation.
Researchers have used geodetic surveying, 3D scanning, photogrammetry and aerial photography to investigate the site. Earlier excavations have also produced ceramics, arrowheads, objects made from bone and metal, glass beads, bronze earrings and rings, buckles and animal remains.
Archaeologists have excavated a structure interpreted as a temple dating from the ninth and tenth centuries. Previous investigations revealed ritual features and altars, making the newly identified sequence of five altar levels particularly significant for understanding how these spaces changed over time.
Was Kesken-Kuyuk the medieval city of Huvara?
One of the larger questions surrounding the site is its possible identification with Huvara, a city mentioned in historical sources. Researchers have increasingly connected Kesken-Kuyuk with Huvara, and archaeological discoveries have added evidence to that hypothesis. In 2025, Voyakin reported that coins minted at Huvara had been discovered at Kesken-Kuyuk.
The coins potentially provide an important clue to a longstanding historical problem. Medieval written sources mention Huvara, but researchers have struggled to determine where the city was located.
The identification remains a subject for continuing archaeological investigation, but the size of Kesken-Kuyuk and the discoveries made there demonstrate that it was an important medieval urban centre.
Recent research has also begun examining the environment that supported the city. Archaeologists and specialists have investigated its irrigation system and how inhabitants managed water in a landscape shaped by the Syr Darya and the changing environment around the Aral Sea.
The citadel has become a particular focus of investigation. During the 2025 field season, archaeologists opened a new excavation area in the elevated part of the settlement interpreted as the citadel. They documented walls, floors, platforms, ritual features and several construction phases.
The newly announced results are adding considerably more detail to that picture. The six structures and successive altar levels suggest that buildings within the citadel were repeatedly altered over the course of the city’s history.
Archaeologists are continuing their analysis of the discoveries in an effort to establish a more precise chronology for Kesken-Kuyuk. Further investigation of the site could provide a clearer picture of urban life, religious practices and cultural connections in this part of medieval Central Asia.
Click here to learn more about the Kesken-Kuyuk research project
Top Image: Excavated structures at the medieval city of Kesken-Kuyuk in Kazakhstan. Recent work on the citadel has revealed six building structures, several phases of reconstruction and five successive levels of altar sites. Photo courtesy Kazaly District Culture Department.
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