A team of archaeologists from the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology (Xi’an, China) has arrived in Kyrgyzstan to begin a new season of research at the Western Buddhist Monastery of Krasnaya Rechka settlement. Valery Kolchenko, a researcher at the Institute of History, Archaeology, and Ethnology of the National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic, reported.
According to him, the Institute hosted a discussion on work plans for the current season and for a longer-term period.
Valery Kolchenko told 24-kg.com news agency that the Chinese specialists will stay at the Krasnaya Rechka site until early August. The overall field season for local archaeologists will continue until the end of October and conclude in Uzgen.
Excavations at Krasnaya Rechka have been ongoing for several years.
«All these years we have been studying one object — a monumental building within the Western Buddhist Monastery complex. Once we are able to ensure protection from precipitations, we will begin the most important stage — excavation of the interior. We hope to find something interesting there. Aside from vandalism, the main threat to any archaeological site is atmospheric exposure. According to the agreement, the Chinese side is responsible for full conservation and museumification of the site, and constructing a roof is one of the key components of this process,» Valery Kolchenko told earlier.