29 October 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

The ruins of a thousand-year-old Buddhist Temple will be opened to the public in Kyrgyzstan

The unearthed remains of an ancient Buddhist temple in Kyrgyzstan will open to the public in mid-September as part of UNESCO’s Krasnaya Rechka world heritage site.

Between 1940 and 2000, archaeologists excavating in the Chui Valley discovered towns and monumental structures dating from the 5th to 12th centuries that reflected the cultural and artistic traditions of many countries and peoples, from Byzantium in the west to India in the south and China in the east.

The ancient Buddhist temple, which was constructed more than a thousand years ago, was the second temple found in 2010 close to Krasnaya Rechka (City of Nevaket).

The second Buddhist Navikat temple (Krasnaya Rechka) is the only well-preserved structure among the early medieval Buddhist buildings excavated in the Chui Valley.

Valery Kolchenko, a local archaeologist, told Currenttime.tv that the temple is the only remaining site made entirely of clay. It housed a 36-foot statue of a Buddha in nirvana, parts of which were placed in a Russian heritage museum in St. Petersburg.



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



“All of our medieval archaeological sites are made of clay. We don’t have stone ones; we practically don’t have brick ones, with rare exceptions. It’s all made of clay,” Kolchenko said.

It is rather difficult to imagine the former beauty of the monastery: in part, the reconstruction prepared by archaeologists helps with this.

Kolchenko said the statue was built from brick “with clay smeared on top to form the shape of his clothes, hands, and head.” But he noted that the Buddha statue could not be seen in its entirety.

“A Buddhist couldn’t even see him in his entirety because the walls wouldn’t allow it. Only a part of the face, arms, and legs could be seen. But even to touch this was to acquire some form of sanctity,” he said.

Krasnaya Rechka (Navikat) has long been one of the most significant urban settlements in the Chui Valley and Tien-Shan region. Excavations in and around town have uncovered a Zoroastrian fire altar and grave site in the western suburbs, Nestorian Christian votive stones in the citadel, and two Buddhist temples south of the town walls.

The materials used in both religious and civil buildings are a fascinating expression of regional cultural dialogue, blending Turkic, Indian, Sogdian, and Chinese cultures.

The ancient temple, which was restored as part of an EU-UNESCO collaboration project, was situated along the Silk Road in the Chang’an-Tianshan corridor.

Related Articles

Portugal’s Enigmatic Roman Building “Tower of Centum Cellas”

4 February 2024

4 February 2024

The Tower of Centum Cellas (also known as the “Tower of St. Cornelius”), located in the Mount of Santo Antão...

Tipasa’s Underwater Secrets: Algeria’s Hunt for a Lost Ancient City

1 September 2025

1 September 2025

Algeria has launched a new underwater archaeological campaign off the coast of Tipasa, a UNESCO World Heritage Site celebrated for...

In Lviv, Ukraine, a secret room where Jews were hiding in city sewers during the Nazi Holocaust has been unearthed

7 November 2021

7 November 2021

In the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, diggers have uncovered new hiding spots in underground sewers where some Jews managed...

A 2,000-year-old ancient “mirror” throws light on aristocratic life in China

17 May 2022

17 May 2022

Archeologists in Beijing have successfully reconstructed a 2,000-year-ago dressing mirror once cherished by the high nobility during the Han Dynasty....

Countless Votive Offerings Discovered at Ancient Sanctuary on Greek Island Kythnos

10 June 2023

10 June 2023

Archaeologists excavating a hilltop temple complex on the Cycladic island of Kythnos (commonly called Thermia) Greece have unearthed more than...

Earthquakes caused slight damage to Hatay Archeology Museum

10 February 2023

10 February 2023

The Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued a press release on the latest status of museums and...

Buried Secrets: How a Roman Sailor’s Gravestone Resurfaced in a New Orleans Yard

9 October 2025

9 October 2025

A routine yard cleanup in New Orleans turned into an international archaeological mystery when a homeowner uncovered a 2nd-century Roman...

Mesopotamian bricks reveal the strength of Earth’s ancient magnetic field

19 December 2023

19 December 2023

Ancient Mesopotamian bricks reveal the details of a curious strengthening of the Earth’s magnetic field, according to a new study...

Archaeologists unearth the long-lost homestead of King Pompey in Lynn

3 July 2024

3 July 2024

Archaeologists from the University of New Hampshire (UNH) and a historian from Northeastern University believe they might have found the...

Scientists have developed a new tool that enables them to identify prehistoric and historic individuals’ relatives up to the sixth-degree

24 December 2023

24 December 2023

A new method of genetic analysis makes it possible to determine family relationships of prehistoric and historical individuals up to...

Archaeologists say 12,000-year-old flutes discovered in northern Israel may have been used to lure falcons

9 June 2023

9 June 2023

New research reveals that about 12,000 years ago, in northern Israel, humans turned the bones of small birds into instruments...

The secret of the mummy in the Crystal coffin found in a garage in San Francisco

30 March 2023

30 March 2023

Mysterious mummies are a symbol of ancient lost times, which we often associate with Egypt and other ancient civilizations. Therefore,...

Theater of Perinthos Ancient City to be unearthed

9 August 2021

9 August 2021

The theater area in the Ancient City of Perinthos, whose history dates back to 600 BC, will be unearthed during...

Found in Spain a poem by Virgil engraved in a Roman amphora

22 June 2023

22 June 2023

Archaeologists have deciphered a verse by Virgil, the greatest poet of Rome’s Golden Age, carved into the clay of a...

Network analysis of prehistoric relationships using raw archaeological finds and AI

24 July 2023

24 July 2023

A project of the Cluster of Excellence ROOTS uses archaeological raw material finds for network analyses from the Middle Stone...