Have you ever wondered how much of history is simply sitting out of sight? Somewhere we can’t see, as something buried in dry sand or simply hidden away in old books.But actually, a lot of it may be hidden in plain sight, in places we move across every day, under fields, under cities and, sometimes, underwater, and that too unknowingly.Such is the story of a hidden land that connected some very important civilisations in the past. Beneath the cold waters of a lake in Kyrgyzstan, lie the ruins of a once-busy city.The submerged city on the Silk Route remains hidden under the cold waters of a lake in KyrgyzstanBeneath the cold waters of Lake Issyk-Kul, in Kyrgyzstan, lie the ruins of a once-busy city. According to AFP, diving volunteer Elizaveta Bodrova, 42, joined a team of around 20 scientists at sunrise to help find out its story. She hoped the poor visibility would still let them find the edge of the settlement. The project began in 2024, funded by the Russian Academy of Sciences, and is the first major exploration of the site since it was rediscovered in the 19th century.
The road connected China to the Mediterranean
The settlement lay along the Silk Road, the trade route that linked China and the Mediterranean from the 2nd century BC until the mid-15th century. This stretch is thought to have been controlled by the Karakhanids, a Turkic dynasty that ruled much of Central Asia between the 9th and early 13th centuries.Researchers believe the city may have covered up to five square kilometres, though its name and population are unknown. Expedition director Maxim Menshikov said that, despite sitting in the middle of Central Asia, the area is a blind spot in history, and that the Silk Road is the story of Eurasia as a whole.
What all was found after the research
The lake hides several buildings and artefacts beneath, including a decorated public building, possibly a mosque, a public bath or a religious school, and two cemeteries that suggest the early Islamisation of the region. The divers also brought back animal bones and pottery.Viktor Pozdnyakov, 22, a diver and lab assistant, said that the bones can reveal diet and age, while the pottery helps date the site and show how it was made. One of the most important finds was a child’s chamber pot, called a “tuvaq”. Menshikov said these are still used in Central Asia and the Caucasus, a small sign of daily life.Menshikov said, “You could compare this research to that of Pompeii, the ancient Roman city preserved after Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD.” He added that the people there had a highly developed culture, and that nature wiped it out in an instant.
But how did the city sink?
All possible theories range from landslide to a “tectonic dam” that formed after an earthquake. Geologist Andrei Strelnikov of the Russian Academy of Sciences told AFP the probable cause was a past seismic disaster.According to AFP, the area was flooded nearly 800 years ago. Statements from the Russian Geographical Society report that an earthquake in the early 15th century, about 600 years ago, took place and submerged the city.The site was called Toru-Aygyr, and a joint 2025 expedition with Kyrgyzstan’s National Academy of Sciences explored it. According to the society, Kyrgyz expedition head Valery Kolchenko described it as a city or large trading hub on an important stretch of the Silk Road.