TRIAL TRENCHES AT KOJTEPA, SAMARKAND AREA (SOGDIANA) (Sixth Interim Report 2014)

The joint Uzbek/Italian team spent more than 5 weeks in the area (from 28th August to 28th September 2014), at Kojtepa, acting with the following new field operations: The sixth season of excavation amongst the others, had the following main objectives, all aiming at working and investigating:  the area between the main tepe and the North-Eastern corner of the encircling wall, named Trench no 9, with different successive extensions, Trench no 9.6, and Trench no 9.6, South and East Extensions;  continuation of excavation in Trench no 11; in order to find the continuation of the architectural network already evidenced, and a possible earlier architecture and material culture;  new Trench, named no 12, contiguous to Trench no 11 and no 12.1;  a new Trench, named no 13 to East of Trench no 12;  new Trench, named 14, 15, 16, 17, to South of Trenches nos 11 and 12.1 and Trench no18;  as much as dating material culture possible, in order to obtain a more detailed typological and possibly chronological stratigraphic differentiation;  a 3D reconstruction of different areas o