Uzbekistan’s Prosecutor’s Office in collaboration with the Cultural Heritage Agency, is currently implementing regulations aimed at protecting and preserving the country’s vast wealth of historical monuments.
During a recent investigation related to the new regulations, the Prosecutor’s office discovered the destruction of the Kattatepa monument in the Denov district of Surkhondarya by locals wishing to build a barn. The monument, constructed between the 5th-7th centuries, was of significant historical importance and the cost of damage to the archaeological zone has been estimated at 23.3 billion (~$1.85 million).
Sadly, this is not an isolated case. Three Uzbeks were previously found guilty of causing damage worth 2.6 billion ($ 206,289) to the Oktepa-1 monument in the Navoi region by arbitrarily excavating 193 cubic meters of soil. The conversion of 164 cubic meters of the archaeological site of Badakhshontepa to arable land, is estimated to have resulted in damage valued at 2.3 billion sum ($182,486), and damage sustained by unlawful excavation of 12 cubic meters at site of the Yamonkiyottepa monument, estimated at 163 million ($12,933). Reports of an Uzbek citizen’s commandeer of 0.48 hectares of land around the medieval Tolmozortepa archaeological monument in the Namangan region, resulted in damages of 871 million ($69,107).
Damage to the nation’s archaeological relics is considered a serious crime and under Uzbek law, carries punishment of up to 7 years imprisonment.
