The paper examines the ancient Khorezmian Koi-Krylgan-kala complex from the point of view of archaeoastronomy. Previously, it was assumed that the main structure of the complex is oriented along the azimuth of 69°, which is associated with the direction of sunrise in the middle of the time interval between the spring equinox and the summer solstice and / or in the direction of the sunrise point of Fomalhaut (a Southern Fish).
Based on a comparison of the archaeological plans of the Khorezm expedition with high-precision satellite images from the Google Earth program, it is shown that in some cases the measured magnetic north was not recalculated to the true north or the recalculation was made incorrectly. In particular, it is revealed that the main axis of the Koi-Krylgan-kala complex is oriented along the azimuth of 80°. This result invalidates all previous conclusions.
According to historical information, the third flood of the Amu Darya was called the "flood of the star" in ancient times, and the Pleiades asterism in pre-Islamic times was called the "Star". During the beginning of the complex's operation, the heliacal sunrise of the Pleiades coincided with the moment of the third flood of the Amu Darya, and the moment of visibility of the Pleiades occurred at an azimuth of 78°-79°. Hence, we hypothesize that the main axis of the Koi-Krylgan-kala complex is oriented along the sunrise of the Pleiades, which were of particular importance in the ancient Khorezmian culture.
Key words: archeoastronomy, astronomical orientation, Koi-Krylgankala.
HISTORY OF RESEARCH OF THE KOI-KRYLGAN-KALA COMPLEX
The Koi-Krylgan-kala complex was discovered in 1938 by the Khorezmian archaeological and ethnographic expedition of the USSR Academy of Sciences under the leadership of S. P. Tolstov. The site was built between the VI and III centuries BC and was used until the IV century with a break from the II to I centuries BC. The complex is a round two-story building with a diameter of 44 ...
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