Research of the Irrigation Detachment

A detachment of the South Kazakhstan expedition investigated the city water supply system of ancient Otrar. A sump was dug up adjacent to the northern tip of the Otrar reservoir. An excavation (20X20 m) in the northeastern corner of the sedimentation basin revealed a section of its bottom, a part of the coast was cleaned at the level of the ancient horizon, and the remains of five water supply lines made of ceramic pipes (kybyrs) were found. Two lines of kybyrs were cleared over a distance of 25 m, located at the same level from the surface, parallel to each other, and elongated from the southeast to the northwest. The water intake of the double water pipeline was located on a site (4X2 m) adjoining the shore of the sedimentation basin and rising 0.5 m above the level of the ancient bottom. The pipes are in poor condition. In places, the links of the kybyrs are badly destroyed. They differ in the manufacturing technique (clay, firing, engobe), connection method, length, which indicates repeated repairs during the functioning of the double water supply. The pipes made by hand; only three were made on the potter's wheel. The hand-made pipes have a white engobe, their clay is of poor quality, with a large admixture of gruss and fireclay, the firing is incomplete. The length of such pipes is 71-72 cm, the diameter of one hole is 15 cm, the other is 27 cm, the wall thickness is 2-3 cm. A stop-coupling 2.5 cm high is located 3 cm from the narrow edge. The pipe links are carefully fitted to each other so that the thin end of one pipe fits into the wide hole of the other, leaving no gap.

Kybyrs made on a potter's wheel are covered with red engobe, followed by polishing. Clay of good quality is fully settled. The length of such pipes is 67-68 cm, the diameter of the holes is the same as that of the stucco ones. The rim is decorated with a molded roller with a belt of finger impressions. The clutch is missing. The pipe links had grooves during docking. As the survey showed, the red-angled pipes were in the water during the period of operation, which through especially left grooves, fell into the water supply system. The rest of the cubes were laid in an underground tunnel at a depth of 3 m from the surface. The gallery tunnel has a hemispherical shape in plan (the width of the base is 0.6–2.0 m in the final section, the height is 0.5–1.5 m). Gradually narrowing, the tunnel goes in a north-westerly direction parallel to the main mound of Otrar and ends at a burnt brick building, the excavation of which has not yet been completed. The complex of ceramics discovered during the double water supply line excavates allows us to date it to the 11th-12th centuries.