Hulbuk (archaeological site)

Khulbuk is an archaeological complex in the village of Mehrobod, Vose district, Khatlon region, Tajikistan. It is a medieval fortress, a palace of the ruler and fragments of an ancient fortification. In 1999, he was included in the list of candidates for UNESCO World Heritage Sites under No. 1383.

Khulbuk was part of the ancient city of Hishtep and the center of the Huttal region in the 9th-12th centuries as part of the Gaznevid state. The total area of the settlement is about 70 hectares, but most of it is occupied by modern buildings. The citadel, palace and ruins of some ancient structures have been preserved. Currently, the ancient complex is a historical museum-reserve “Halbuk”, occupying 16 hectares. In 2006, Halbuk was opened to visitors after a thorough reconstruction.
The citadel has a rectangle shape of 50 × 150 m and consists of two parts. The south (50x50 m) is surrounded by 15-meter walls, the north is larger in area, but its walls are lower - 10 m. The ruler’s palace is located inside the citadel. As a result of archaeological excavations, more than 5 thousand artifacts were discovered, which made it possible to learn more about the life and activities of the local population. In addition, fragments of wall painting were found. This refuted the assumption that in Central Asia such a tradition disappeared with the formation of Islam. City buildings were created from burnt brick and raw brick, and the walls and interior were covered with plaster, the floors were laid out with terracotta parquet. There was also running water.
Excavations were carried out in 1953-1954. (E. Davidovich, B. Litvinsky), in 1957-1964. (Yu. Yakubov), in 2003-2006.
In the museum-reserve, in addition to exhibits of archaeological excavations, paintings of contemporary art are exhibited.
On May 2, 2019, it was agreed that the World Bank would allocate $ 1 million for the development of the archaeological complex in the form of a grant under the project “Economic Development of Rural Areas”.