Stuccoes attributed to the early Abbasid and Samanid periods from the archaeological site of Afrasiyab/Samarkand

Online conference

Stuccoes attributed to the early Abbasid and Samanid periods from the archaeological site of Afrasiyab/Samarkand

Speakers: Frantz Grenet (Collège de France, Paris) ; Viola Allegranzi (IFI-ÖAW, Vienna) ; Sandra Aube (CeRMI-CNRS, Paris) ; Richard McClary (University of York)

Since the late 19^th century, archaeological excavations have been carried out in the ancient and medieval site known as Afrasiyab, located in the north-eastern part of modern Samarkand. A fair amount of stucco finds have been retrieved through several campaigns from the ruins of religious and civil buildings dating back to the first centuries of Islam (8^th-10^th c.). This conference aims at drawing attention to these little known materials, which deserve fresh examination and broader consideration from a comparative perspective.

Prof. Grenet will introduce the site and the recent activities of the Mission Archéologique Franco-Ouzbèke de Sogdiane (MAFOuz, 1989-). Dr. Allegranzi and Dr. Aube will present the corpus of stucco fragments uncovered in the first Abbasid mosque of Samarkand. Dr. McClary will deal with the stuccoes that once adorned some residences ascribed to the Samanid period.

This event is organised within the framework of the research programme Cultural and Social History of Premodern Iran of the Institute of Iranian Studies of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (dir. Dr. Florian Schwarz).

The meeting will be held online. Participation will be limited to a small audience, in order to facilitate the discussion. Students and colleagues who might be interested to attend can register with the convener, Viola Allegranzi (viola.allegranzi(at)oeaw.ac.at) by January, 21th.

For a preliminary programme see: programme_carved history (PDF)