Sym Ota 1 Archaeological Project (Beruniy District, Uzbekistan): Processed Ceramics, 2018 (Version 2)

This data set contains all information on the processed diagnostic ceramics from the 2018 archaeological excavations at the site of Sym Ota 1. Sym Ota 1 is an approximately 1 hectare (ha) mound located 0.9 km east of the Amu Darya River near the village of Kervan in Beruniy District, Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan (41° 38.609'N, 60° 46.705'E). The site is a subsidiary mound of the medieval city of Kath, which was an important agricultural and trade hub during the Islamic Golden Age (8th-13th centuries A.D.). Research at Sym-Ota 1 was funded by the National Geographic Society (NGS-179E-18) to investigate the environmental and agricultural changes leading up to this period in the delta of the Amu Darya. Mapping and excavation were conducted at this site in 2018 from 22 June to 20 July under the auspices of the Karakalpak-Australian Expedition in Ancient Chorasmia, and following, under a research agreement between the Institute of History, Archaeology, and Ethnography, Karakalpak Branch of the Uzbek Academy of Sciences and Purdue University. The project directors were E. Brite (Purdue) and G. Khozhaniyazov (IHAE, deceased). A. Toreniyazov (IHAE) was principal collaborator overseeing ceramics documentation and analysis. A. Bekbauliev and I. Khozhalipesov (IHAE), S. Hunter and J. Marston (Boston Univ.), and S. Ammerman (UCLA) assisted with field documentation. M. Kreutz (Purdue) assisted in the preparation of the 2018 ceramic data for publication. Cartographic services at the site of Sym Ota 1 were provided by S. Mirzaahmedov. Site Information Sym Ota 1 was first identified in pedestrian surveys, associated with a cluster of six mounded sites (Khorezmian qalas) that were initially dated to the 4th-8th centuries A.D. (Gulyamov 1957: 110). Preliminary work by Manylov (1965) at one of these sites (Pil' qala), however suggested two phases of occupation, in the 4th cen. B.C. – 3rd cen. A.D. and the 8th-14th centuries A.D. The mound of Sym Ota 1 is oriented along a NE-SW axis and is demarcated by a high, square mound of approximately 75m x 85m that rises 5.5m above the agricultural plain. A lower mounded area extends approximately 25m to the southeast along the SE side at an elevation of approximately 3m above the agricultural plain. The entirety of the modern ground surface is covered with xerophytic vegetation of moderate density (10-25 shrubs per square meter). A 40m x 3m long trench was excavated at Sym Ota 1 in 2018 to capture stratigraphic sequences from both the high and low mound areas. Burial pits and human remains obstructed excavations in some areas, such that excavations proceeded to maximum possible depths (up to 6.30m below the modern ground surface) only in selected parts of the trench. Full information on all results from Sym Ota 1, including corresponding information on stratigraphic results, is published (open access) in: Brite, E. et al. 2026. Climate change and world history: Evidence from the site of Sym-Ota 1 in the Aral Sea Basin. Quaternary Science Advances. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.qsa.2025.100313 Data Set Information The data set includes information for all diagnostic ceramics (sherds with identifiable form or decoration elements) from the 2018 excavations at Sym-Ota 1. The spreadsheet contains find information, sherd characteristics, documentation photos, and illustration(s) for each find. Color information was assessed using a Munsell Color Chart and uses its coding system. Absolute date designations for each find were assessed by the site ceramicist (A. Toreniyazov) and are provided in Russian and English format. Photos and drawings embedded in the spreadsheet are also provided as separate files. Drawings and photos can be referenced by record number. Filenames for drawings are listed as Site-Trench-Locus-Record# (e.g., "1-01-001-88_digitized" is record #88), whereas filenames for images are listed as SA_Diag_Record#_photo# (e.g., "SA_Diag_88a" is the first photo of record #88). A data dictionary is provided for all column header terms and project-specific codes used in the spreadsheet and can be found in a separate file in the data set. An additional .pdf provides summary statistics on the distribution of sherd types by date. Gulyamov, Ya.G., 1957. Istoriya Orosheniya Khorezma c Drevneishikh Vremen do Nashikh Dnei. Izdatel’stvo Akademii Nauk Uzbekskoi SSR, Tashkent. Manylov, Yu.P., 1965. Rabot’i na gorodishche Pil’-kala v 1963 godu. Odshchestvenni’e Nauki v Uzbekistane 3, 53–56.