Archaeologists from Japan, Georgia and England are excavating together with specialists from the National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic in Chui region of Kyrgyzstan.
According to Kyrgyz archaeologists, the excavation season in Ak-Beshim village lasts only a month a year, as long as climatic conditions allow. Then the specialists are engaged in cameral treatment and restoration of the found household items.
«There are a lot of them in Kyrgyzstan. We cannot predict when and where they will come. They can just come as tourists, and then walk around with metal detectors, dig up something. There is criminal liability for this, but I have not yet heard of anyone being caught,» an archaeologist Aibek Moldokmatov told 24.kg news agency.
He noted that initially fences in the form of iron and wooden poles were erected at the site of archaeological excavations, but local residents pulled them apart. They have to be replaced several times, but there are no funds for their regular replacement.
Yoji Sakakibara, a consultant for the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), told journalists that representatives of the Japanese Teike and Ryukoku universities are taking part in the work in Ak-Beshim village.
Since March 2022, JICA has been implementing a project to prepare a master plan in the form of recommendations for the development of tourism in Chui region for the government of the Kyrgyz Republic. The program involves villages with world cultural heritage sites — Ak-Beshim, Burana and Krasnaya Rechka. The UNESCO World Heritage status increases the tourist potential of the sites and makes it possible to develop the surrounding territories socially and economically.
