Torbulok

Torbulok sits in a natural hollow on the eastern slopes of Mount Čaltau, at around 950 metres above sea level,[1] where the streams from four separate springs meet.

[4] In the northwestern section of the upper terrace, there was a raised platform with two large basins in the ground, lined with lime mortar, which received water from a spring above the sanctuary.

Offerings included pebbles, brought from the Vakhsh (Oxus) river, at least thirty kilometres away, showing that people came to worship at the site from throughout the region.

[4] The platform and the courtyard were subsequently covered by a landslide, after which the ground was levelled and a kitchen building was erected with a stove, oven, and storage vessels.

Different types of votive material were deposited in different pits, including animal bones, small sherds of pottery, glass beads, and other items which have caused the soil in each of the bits to take on a different colour.

[3] The structures on the lower terrace were destroyed by modern construction work before they could be excavated, but a large stone basin called a perirrhanterion, which was used by visitors to Greek sanctuaries to purify themselves before entering the sacred area was found.