The urban phenomenon in pre-Islamic Central Asia : diachronic and synchronic approaches (12)

Dil'berdjin

Map of the city of Dil'berdjin

Dil'berdjin, in Afghanistan, 40 km north-west of Bactres, occupies a position on the edge of the oasis symmetrical to that of Zadiyan (see seminar of February 13); it guarded the road to the Kelif ford in the same way as Zadiyan guarded the road to Kampyrtepa. As with the other medium-sized Kushan towns we have examined, we do not know its ancient name. Dil'berdjin is morphologically similar to Kampyrtepa in size (15 ha intramuros with a round citadel at the center), but to Dal'verzintepa in terms of chronology (all the ramparts are thought to date from the Greco-Bactrian period, and the citadel from the Achaemenid period), suburbs, a wealthy residence (outside the walls), temples and wall paintings.

From the point of view of archaeological study, Dil'berdjin has not fared as well as the other cities. The site was excavated from 1970 to 1977 by a Soviet mission led by Irina Kruglikova, a Black Sea specialist who was ill-prepared for Central Asia. The participation of G. Pugachenkova in the first campaigns produced architectural studies of great quality, but the wall paintings, which were very numerous, were less well served: the preliminary publication of the excavation in six fascicles [1] was not doubled by art albums, as for the other sites, and we have to make do with drawings or color reproductions of mediocre quality; the works were all deposited in the Kabul museum, where a large part perished during the war. The excavation was interrupted abruptly and the publication file now seems to be in disarray.

The main problem is that of chronology. The excavators assumed that life on the site had stopped at the end of the 4th^century, based on the coins, which in fact only give a terminus post quem. This chronology has been rejected by all art historians, who believe that the last paintings in the great temple and its annex date from the late ^6th or early 7th^century[2]. This temple, located at the northeast corner of the city and endowed with its own enclosure since Greco-Bactrian times, could have continued to be frequented long after the rest of the city had been deserted.

The citadel, which covers an area of 4 ha (a figure that is decidedly recurrent), has only attracted attention for its rampart, which has been rebuilt several times, while the interior habitat has only been excavated at the upper Kushano-Sassanid level and summarily published. Today, we can see that it was similar to the planned military habitat of Kampyrtepa, with very small residential units sharing blocks criss-crossed by a radial network of streets leading to the towers. The citadel succumbed to two successive sieges with saps and siege machines, pointing to the Sassanid invasion.

Craft activity is poorly documented. In terms of religious life, Buddhism is present but occupies a secondary position, with a modest sanctuary outside the walls. The two temples reveal an iconographic Hindu pantheon, Shivaist in the case of the main temple, while a small chapel in the south gate contained images derived from that of Heracles. In all these cases, assimilation to Zoroastrian deities is possible but not proven. In any case, the preference given to warrior deities over the Buddha may reflect the predominantly military component of the city's population.