Grains of foxtail millet were found in a charred state in a pantry excavated at the Kafir Kala fortress in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. (Provided by Tezukayama University)
NARA An eighth-century pantry unearthed in the ancient Silk Road city of Samarkand suggests the influence of Eastern and Western dietary cultures on the dinner table of a Sogdian king, archeologists said.
The remains of the pantry were found in Kafir Kala, a fortress 30 kilometers to the southeast of central Samarkand, during an excavation by institutions including Tezukayama University in Nara and the National Museum of Ethnology in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, in September 2019.
The pantry excavated at Kafir Kala (Provided by Tezukayama University)