Zurmala stupa is a remnant of the largest Buddhist

stupa A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation. In Buddhism, circumamb ...

located in Termez district in Uzbekistan. It is considered to be the oldest construction still standing in Uzbekistan. It was built in the first or second century CE. The stupa is 13.5m tall and has a diameter of about 14 m. It is made up of square bricks. Each of the bricks has a stamp which is similar to one used in

Bactria Bactria (; Bactrian: , ), or Bactriana, was an ancient region in Central Asia in Amu Darya's middle stream, stretching north of the Hindu Kush, west of the Pamirs and south of the Gissar range, covering the northern part of Afghanistan, southwe ...

during the

Kushan Empire The Kushan Empire ( grc, Βασιλεία Κοσσανῶν; xbc, Κυϸανο, ; sa, कुषाण वंश; Brahmi: , '; BHS: ; xpr, 𐭊𐭅𐭔𐭍 𐭇𐭔𐭕𐭓, ; zh, 貴霜 ) was a syncretic empire, formed by the Yuezhi, i ...

in the 3rd century AD. The fragment of kilned bricks can also be found around the stupa. It is believed that the exterior facade of the stupa was painted a bright red colour. Currently, the stupa has huge cracks around it.

History

The early information about the stupa can be found in the diaries Xuan Jian, a Chinese buddhist priest who visited Termez in 629-630. According to him, there were more than 10 monasteries in Termez and more than 1000 monks. He mentioned that there were many stupas in the area. The study by A.S. Strelkov in 1926–1928 in the expedition by the Oriental Museum of Moscow and the

Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is the list of ...

of St. Petersburg, noted the similarity with the description of Xuan Jian. Later, M.E. Masson organized an expedition to understand the general features of these monuments. Archaeologist Alexander Strelkov, who investigated the tower in 1927, assumed that it was a

Buddhist stupa A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation. In Buddhism, circumambu ...

. However, this statement was confirmed only half a century later during excavations led by

Galina Pugachenkova Galina Anatolevna Pugachenkova (7 February 1915 – 18 February 2007) was a Soviet archaeologist and art historian, regarded as a founder of Uzbek archaeology and central to the progression of archaeology and art history under Soviet regimes. ...

. As a result of archaeological research of the monument, an assumption was made that its height is 13 meters, with a diameter of 14.5 meters. The monument is rectangular in shape (22 x 16 meters) and built of raw brick in the form of a cylindrical tower topped by a dome with bas-relief sculptures. During excavations many planks up to 3 meters long were found. Presumably the stupa was faced with red burnt bricks and stone blocks with scenes from

Buddhist mythology The Buddhist traditions have created and maintained a vast body of mythological literature. The central myth of Buddhism is the life of the Buddha. This is told in relatively realistic terms in the earliest texts, and was soon elaborated into ...

References

Buddhist sites in Uzbekistan Stupas {{Uzbekistan-struct-stub