Karakalpak-Australian Expedition

The Karakalpak-Australian Expedition is a long-standing collaboration between the University of Sydney and the Karakalpak Research Institute for the Humanities of the Karakalpak Branch of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan. This project, established in 1994, centres around excavation of sites in the Tash-k’irman Oasis in Biruni District. Key projects include excavations at the royal seat of Akchakhan-kala, the ‘fire temple’ of Tash-k’irman-tepe, and the early medieval fortress of Kara-tepe, conducted in collaboration with the University of California, Los Angeles. The project has produced remarkable new data on early Mazdean/Zoroastrian practice in Central Asia, and uncovered a unique corpus of art. The project has been strongly supported by the Australian Research Council, National Geographic and the University of Sydney.