In a significant breakthrough for Silk Road studies, a team of archaeologists has excavated a 4th-century Sogdian fire temple in the oasis region of Bukhara. The temple complex includes a central 'Atashgah' (fire altar room) surrounded by an ambulatory decorated with gilded wall paintings depicting celestial deities and royal processions.
The murals are particularly noteworthy for their high artistic quality and the use of imported pigments like lapis lazuli and gold leaf, indicating the extreme wealth of the Sogdian merchant-priests who frequented the sanctuary. This discovery provides the first physical evidence of a major pre-Islamic Zoroastrian center in this part of Transoxiana, predating the Arab conquests.