page_title: Jankent
section_title: Citadel
hierarchical_section_title: Jankent / Archaeological evidence / Citadel
caption_attribution_description: English: View of citadel of Jankent from the north, with corner tower uncovered (photo H. Härke 2013)
context_page_description: Jankent is a deserted town east of the Aral Sea in modern Kazakhstan. It is known from Arab writings of the 10th century AD as the capital of the steppe empire of the Oghuz Turks. Archaeological research has provided information about the appearance of the town and confirmed the date, but also points to earlier origins.
context_section_description: At the junction of the citadel wall and northern town wall (Trench P2), occupation layers with complex stratification were found by the Russian-Kazakh-German team down to a depth of more than 8 metres (26 ft) from the current top of the citadel wall. Radiocarbon dates from this trench produced a range of (cal.) AD 786/923 to 961/1095. The extension of the trench at the top of the citadel wall since 2012 has uncovered semi-circular towers on the wall. In 2019, a 9th/10th century pottery vessel from the outside of the northern base of the citadel wall was found to contain three eggs with Arabic writing on them. 
  Fieldwork in the interior of the citadel (Trench P3) by the Almaty and Pavlodar teams has reportedly uncovered only two layers of 9th/10th century date, the lower one of which produced building remains and a street. Lack of detailed publication precludes an independent verification of these claims.
caption: View of citadel of Jankent from the north, with corner tower uncovered (bright feature at upper right) (photo H. Härke 2013)
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