Remote Sanctuary at the Crossroads of Empire

Along a rocky mountain ridge in southern Tajikistan, two steep cliffs jut above the sloping Lyangurt Valley, where the rural village of Torbulok sits. Although the area is often dry, water occasionally flows down the valley, perhaps a hint of the more abundant water sources that gave Torbulok its name, which means “four springs.” It’s nearly as difficult to traverse the terrain now as it would have been in antiquity when people ventured to this remote location in the region of Bactria, whi

Benjamin Leonard is a senior editor at ARCHAEOLOGY.