Por-Bazhyn: A Ruined Uyghur Fortified Complex in Russia

Site at a Glance

Rating

★4.6

Popularity

Very Low

Country

Russia

Primary era

Medieval

Eras represented

Medieval

Civilizations

Unclassified

Site type

Military

Remains

Fort

History

Por-Bazhyn is a ruined fortified complex in Russia, built in the late eighth century under the Uyghur Khaganate, the Central Asian empire that ruled much of the eastern steppe from 744 to 840. It stands on an island in Lake Tere-Khol in southern Siberia, and its Tuvan name means “clay house.” The complex is associated with Bögü Kagan, who ruled from 759 to 779, although its exact purpose and historical sequence remain uncertain.

Construction under the Uyghur Khaganate

Tree-ring and radiocarbon evidence places construction in the late eighth century. Earlier studies proposed a date between 770 and 790, while a 2019 dendrochronological study connected the timber to the Miyake event of 774–775, a sharp increase in radiocarbon production that provides a precise chronological marker. That study placed the beginning of construction in summer 777.

Excavators associated the complex with Bögü Kagan, the successor of Moyanchur, also known as Bayanchur Khan. An earlier interpretation linked Por-Bazhyn to a palace mentioned in the Selenga inscription, an eighth-century Uyghur runic monument. That identification is difficult to reconcile with the proposed construction date because the inscription refers to a palace built by Moyanchur after his victory over the Chik tribes in 750. The earlier interpretation therefore remains separate from the later dating and attribution.

Proposed functions and abandonment

One interpretation identifies Por-Bazhyn as a summer palace built for Bögü Kagan. The excavators proposed that an earthquake damaged the complex and that Bögü’s conversion to Manichaeism, a dualistic religion founded by Mani in the third century, led to its conversion into a Manichaean monastery. After Bögü died in 780 and Manichaeism was abolished, the monastery was supposedly abandoned. This reconstruction of the site’s use and sequence remains speculative.

Few finds and the extremely limited occupation evidence point away from permanent residence. Repairs and rebuilding show that the complex may nevertheless have been maintained for a period. Earlier studies also described it as a border fortress, ritual site, or astronomical observatory, but modern fieldwork has not produced evidence supporting those interpretations.

Earthquakes, fires, and later knowledge

Geomorphological investigations identified traces of at least two earthquakes. One probably struck during construction in the eighth century. Another, in the late Middle Ages, caused fires and the collapse of the southern and eastern enclosure walls and the northwestern corner bastion. Further earthquake damage and extensive fires affected the abandoned complex later.

Por-Bazhyn was known by the eighteenth century and was first explored in 1891 by D. A. Klemenc of the Minusinsk Museum. Archaeological investigations followed in 1957–1963 under the direction of the Russian archaeologist Sevyan Vainshtein. Large-scale fieldwork took place in 2007–2008 through the Por-Bazhyn Fortress Foundation, with researchers from the Russian Academy of Sciences, the State Museum of the East, and Moscow State University. The 2007 expedition, conducted under the auspices of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, also attempted to restore the central temple or palace structure. More than one hundred researchers from different fields took part in the wider project.

In 1995, Por-Bazhyn became a federally significant cultural-heritage monument of Russia under the designation “Ancient Uyghur Fortress Por-Bazhyn, eighth–ninth centuries AD.”

Remains

Por-Bazhyn occupies a small island at approximately 1,300 metres above sea level in the Sengelen Mountains of southern Siberia. The island lies about 8 kilometres west of Kungurtuk and close to the Russian-Mongolian border. Geophysical investigations characterize it as essentially a permafrost plug in a shallow lake. It appears to have emerged several centuries before the complex was built, and the clay used for the enclosure may have been taken from the lakebed around the island.

Enclosure and entrances

The rectangular enclosure is oriented from east to west and measures approximately 215 by 162 metres, covering about 3.3 hectares and almost the entire island. Its walls were built chiefly with hangtu, a rammed-earth technique in which successive layers of earth are compacted inside a temporary wooden frame. The walls originally rose about 11 metres and were more than 10 metres thick. The western and eastern walls remain relatively well preserved, reaching roughly 9.5 to 10 metres in places, while the inner walls survive to approximately 1–1.5 metres.

The principal entrance stood at the centre of the eastern wall. Fortified towers flanked it, with ramps leading up to them, and three heavy wooden doorways controlled passage into the enclosure. The entrance opened into two successive courtyards joined by a small gate. The outer courtyard formed the first stage of this entry sequence, while the inner arrangement led toward the central complex. Excavation of the northern bastion on the eastern wall revealed remains of a wooden fighting platform that extended along the tops of the curtain wall and bastions.

Central buildings

The inner courtyard contained a central building group formed by a two-part structure and two flanking galleries. The two principal buildings stood one behind the other on square platforms made from layers of clay and faced with plaster-coated brick. Their axial arrangement reflects the influence of Tang architectural traditions, which commonly emphasized a central axis, while the surrounding accommodation also resembles the organization of an ideal Buddhist monastery. The complex combines these influences with distinctive Uyghur characteristics.

The larger central building was divided by wattle-and-daub panels into two halls and several smaller rooms. Lime plaster covered the walls and panels, with geometric designs and horizontal red stripes providing the recorded decoration. Two plaster layers of differing quality indicate that repairs were carried out. A tiled roof rested on 36 wooden columns set on stone bases. Burned timber fragments indicate post-and-beam construction with interlocking roof supports in the dougong style, a system of wooden brackets that supports roofs and distributes their weight.

Decorative tiles from the ends of the eaves resemble those used on Tang-period buildings, although more recent studies classify them within a distinct Uyghur stylistic tradition. Burned structural timber and damaged architectural elements connect the surviving central buildings with the fires and destructive events that affected the complex.

Perimeter courtyards and finds

Smaller enclosed courtyards extended along the inner sides of the northern, western, and southern walls. Small gates connected these spaces, and each courtyard contained a one- or two-room building with a plan and construction method similar to those of the central group. Together, these spaces created an internal arrangement around the main courtyard and central buildings.

A hoard of 58 iron billets was found beneath the floor of a small room. The billets were intended for forging weapons and provide evidence of metal stock held within the complex. Alongside the fortified walls, controlled entrance, fighting platform, courtyards, and central buildings, this find contributes to the varied and still debated interpretation of Por-Bazhyn’s use.