On a high valley terrace on the banks of the Zeravshan River, 6km from the modern town of Penjikent, are the ruins of ancient Penjikent, a major Sogdian town founded in the 5th century and abandoned in the 8th century with the arrival of the Arabs. The ancient city has not been built upon since. The foundations of houses, a citadel with a couple of Zoroastrian temples, and the city bazaar are visible in the excavated ruins, but the best of the frescoes (some of them 15m long), sculptures, pottery and manuscripts have been carted off to Tashkent and St Petersburg.
