Remains of the oldest part of the ancient settlement of Taraz were discovered buried under the site of modern-day Taraz’s central market. Firstly, the citadel, where those of high and influential rank resided: the rulers and spiritual leaders. Attached to the citadel was a walled part of the city known as the shakhristan, where noblemen, wealthy merchants and craftsmen resided and the eastern market and mosques were situated. The trade and craft outskirts of the city, the rabads, were linked to the shakhristan walls on all sides. Craftsmen’s workshops, some craftsmen’s homes and poor citizens’ living quarters were all located here.

Archaeological excavations carried out on the territory of the city have shown that the city had a water supply system made up of clay pipes, public baths, a mint, paved streets and other constructions. The walls surrounding the city reached a thickness of 1.25m and a height of 9-10m. At present only a small part of the eastern wall of the shakhristan has been preserved (on Mirozoian Street).

In the middle of the 10^th century, on territory including Taraz, the large state union of the western Kara-khanid Empire took shape. It existed until the end of the 12^th century. This period coincided with an age of prosperity in Taraz. It was facilitated by the development of not only religious but also civil architecture. Two eastern baths testify to the high level of culture of that period; they were discovered on the territory of Taraz’s modern-day central market and date from the 10^th-12^th centuries. One of the bath houses was excavated by A.N. Bernshtam as early as 1938. The surviving remains of its foundation, as well as sections of wall paintings, have allowed experts to ascertain its layout and decorative elements: a domed building with two sections, one for men and the other for women. The bath house’s decor represented the earliest encounter of wall paintings in the history of Kazakhstan’s architecture. The entrances and domed buildings were decorated with patterns of yellow six- and eight-pointed stars, laid out in a chequered formation on a brownish-red wall painting, and a pattern of stems and arched leaves.

During the building of the city’s covered market in the late 1960s, another bath house was found, similar to the one described above. The bath house comprised four rooms. A clay seat, remains of troughs and baths were preserved. Unfortunately, both bath houses are now merely archaeological monuments. They are protected by the state, and it may therefore become possible in the future to study and restore them.

Academics also ascribe the construction of a stone bridge on the River Talas to this period. It was a bridge crossed by caravans travelling along the Silk Road: traders, travellers and indeed residents of Taraz. Today only a few remnants of stone tiles can be found, and stone blocks are visible in places. The bridge was first described by Arab traveller al-Makdisi in the 10^th century and then in the 13^th century by Laotian monk Chan-Chun.

Religious buildings represent possibly the most remarkable architectural monuments in Kazakhstan. Among the buildings which have been preserved to this day, the mausoleums pose particular interest. It is in these examples of monumental religious architecture that the spread of Islam among early urban populations is reflected.

About the creation of the museum

«Ancient Taraz» and Archaeological park

In the central part of the modern city, the ruins of the ancient city of Taraz have been preserved. The first archaeological researches took place in the 30s of the twentieth century. and even then, scientists considered the creation of an archaeological park. But these plans were realized only after 70 years, in 2011 full-scale archaeological work began on the territory of the shahristan of the Taraz settlement to create a historical and cultural complex: the archaeological park and the Museum of Ancient Taraz. The grand opening of the historical and cultural center «Ancient Taraz» took place in 2015 on the eve of the celebration of the 550th anniversary of the Kazakh Khanate with the participation of the head of state N. A. Nazarbayev.

The territory of the Taraz settlement, with a total area (10 ha), includes a designated area for the creation of an archaeological park, where systematic archaeological and restoration-conservation work is being carried out. Today, the town-planning structure of the central part of medieval Taraz of the Karakhanid period of the X-XII centuries, including the main thoroughfare and dense public and residential urban development: a hamam bath, two caravanserais, residential and commercial buildings, a water supply system, has been opened system, etc. Above the archaeological site of 2011-2016. suspended structures were built that protect the archaeological site from the devastating effects of precipitation.

Excursion pedestrian bridges are located on the territory of the archaeological park, which are located above medieval archaeological structures. Thus, research, restoration and conservation work is underway to create an open-air museum in the central part of the Taraz settlement.

The observation tower, the “House of Friendship”, the stella “Melodies of Taraz”, the square “Mynbulak”, and the building of the museum “Kone Taraz” were located on the territory of the park. The building of the House of Friendship houses regional ethnocenters of the Assembly of Peoples of Kazakhstan, where the main cultural events of the city and region are held.

Archaeological material obtained as a result of excavations of the ancient settlement of Taraz constitutes the exposition of the Museum of Ancient Taraz. This archaeological collection consists of unique archaeological finds dating from the X-XII centuries, the heyday of ancient Taraz on the Great Silk Road. Archaeological finds show that artisans lived in Taraz, making magnificent products from ceramics, metal, glass, bone; merchants traded in strange goods from different countries. The mint minted coins on behalf of the Taraz rulers, traveled by scientists and craftsmen, enriching the culture of the region. Each archaeological object was created in ancient times by masters who worked in line with folk traditions, due to which these things possessed a special “language” that was well understood by their fellow tribesmen. And today, archaeological finds reveal the secrets of the bygone past, show the level of development of the culture, science and crafts of ancient Taraz.