Dalverzin Tepe

Dalverzin Tepe is an ancient archaeological site founded by the Graeco-Bactrian Kingdom and located near to the modern city of Denau in the Surxondaryo Region of Uzbekistan.

The city was founded in the 3rd century BC and rose to prominence in the Kushan period when two important Buddhist temples were built here.

[1] Built on the northern bank of the Amu Darya, it was originally a small, fortified town constructed around a central citadel.

[3] Buildings were typically made of unbaked clay bricks, with wooden beams to support the ceilings.

Grander houses would have had a columned entrance, a vestibule, living and working quarters, and a domestic sanctuary.

[9] It included a large platform which might have been the base of a stupa, surrounded by a corridor and multiple rooms with fragmentary sculptures of Boddhisatvas and secondary deities.

[3] Archeologists at Delverzin Tepe also excavated numerous copper and gold coins with images of deities and bearded kings.

[9] Many of the figures are similarly dressed to those found at Khalchayan and they show two distinct stylistic influences, from Gandhara and from the more local Graeco-Iranian tradition.