While Alexander the Great evokes widespread popular perception, he was a talented military strategist who defeated Persian armies larger than his own despite the odds against him. Alexander seemed to win victories as if they were divinely sent by the gods. Yet Alexander’s battlefield accomplishments were temporary compared with the vast cultural legacy left in his successor’s wake. Cities such as Alexandria in Egypt bear his name, but countless small military camps and monuments mark his path from Turkey to modern-day Uzbekistan. One such site has just been uncovered.
Iskandar Tepa: From “Small Settlement” to Military Camp
Archaeologists have recently identified a site known as Isakandar Tepa, a short-term Ancient Greek military camp. A new geophysical survey and targeted excavations uncovered a defensive ditch, dozens of burial pits, and even a cluster of buried water jars. These findings, reported in the Journal of Archaeological Science, overturn earlier ideas identifying the site as a small settlement. Instead, the data provide evidence of a temporary military outpost established during the Hellenistic Period.
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Aerial view of the excavation in the central part of Iskandar Tepa. (Ladislav Stančo/CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
Radar and Magnetometry Mapped the Hidden Camp
The study was principally led by Ladislav Stanco of Charles University in Prague, working in collaboration with a Czech-Uzbek archaeological team. The group was first able to survey this site in 2017 and returned in 2021 with technical equipment such as magnetometry and ground-penetrating radar equipment to map what lay beneath the surface.
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A Defensive Ditch Around the Camp
The scans identified a camp area of nearly six hectares and revealed a ditch stretching roughly 400 meters around the settlement, enclosing an area of about 1.2 hectares. Excavations later confirmed this ditch measured between four and seven meters wide (13 to 23 feet) and up to 85 centimeters deep, with a stepped profile carved into the ground. Rows of postholes are also found just inside the ditch, suggesting wooden defenses once stood along the edge.
Trench at Iskandar Tepa that contained Khum vessels. (Ladislav Stančo /CC BY 4.0)
Buried Khum Jars and the Problem of Water
Inside the enclosed area, researchers also found large ceramic storage jars, known locally as khums, buried directly within the ground. Three of these jars were fully excavated and showed traces of white mineral crusts, which were most likely left behind by stored water rather than food or grain. Researchers believe that these jars once held water taken from a nearby valley or collected from a canal identified during the survey, since no permanent buildings or source of water were located at the site itself.
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Map of the Bactro-Sogdian borderlands showing Boysari Tepa, Iskandar Tepa, and neighboring Hellenistic and Transitional-period archaeological sites in southern Uzbekistan. (L. Stančo and T. Tencer/Journal of Archaeological Science)
Burial Pits After the Camp Was Abandoned
The survey also identified approximately 90 oval pits placed along the eastern and western edges of the settlement. Excavations confirmed these were burial pits, some dating to the first century BC and later. A handful of graves drastically overlap with the settlement area itself, suggesting the burial ground continued to be used after the camp was no longer active.
Silver tetradrachm of Demetrius I Soter, Seleucid king, with Heracles seated on the reverse. (Rani Nurmai/CC BY-SA 3.0)
The Coins That Dated the Camp to the 2nd Century BC
Several coins honoring the Greco-Bactrian rulers Euthydemus I and Demetrius I were found at the site, suggesting occupation during the second century BC. Researchers were able to compare the camp layout with a similar site, Boysari Tepa. This location was a similarly shaped hilltop site in Sogdiana. It also has a shallow surrounding ditch and simple wooden postholes rather than permanent architecture.
Professor Stanco noted:
“The combination of an elevated location, a circular ditch, and the absence of solid buildings matches historical descriptions of Greek military camps, a type of site rarely found and documented in Central Asia.”
He was confident the survey had documented an important site:
“The survey showed effective geophysical tools can be in dry, poorly preserved landscapes where surface remains leave few clues that one can easily see.”
Top Image: Aerial view of the excavation in the central part of Iskandar Tepa. Inset; Silver tetradrachm of Demetrius I Soter. Source: Ladislav Stančo/CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 (Inset; Rani Nurmai/CC BY-SA 3.0)
By Ramsey Hardin
References
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Stančo, Ladislav, Verónica Martínez Ferreras, and Jan Kysela. “Pottery of the Steppe Piedmonts of the Bactro-Sogdian Borderlands: The Case of Iskandar Tepa (Mid-2nd–1st c. BC).” Archaeological Research in Asia 29 (2022): 100373. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ara.2022.100373.
Stančo, Ladislav, Tomáš Tencer, et al. “Geophysical and Archaeological Survey of the Hellenistic Bactro-Sogdian Borderlands: New Evidence for Iskandar Tepa as a Greek Military Camp.” Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports (2026). Accessed July 3, 2026.https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352409X2600177X.
