Zurmala Stupa

The early information about the stupa can be found in the diaries Xuan Jian, a Chinese buddhist priest who visited Termez in 629-630. According to him, there were more than 10 monasteries in Termez and more than 1000 monks. He mentioned that there were many stupas in the area. The study by A.S. Strelkov in 1926–1928 in the expedition by the Oriental Museum of Moscow and the Hermitage Museum of St. Petersburg, noted the similarity with the description of Xuan Jian. Later, M.E. Masson organized an expedition to understand the general features of these monuments.^{[citation needed]}

Archaeologist Alexander Strelkov, who investigated the tower in 1927, assumed that it was a Buddhist stupa. However, this statement was confirmed only half a century later during excavations led by Galina Pugachenkova.^[4] As a result of archaeological research of the monument, an assumption was made that its height is 13 meters, with a diameter of 14.5 meters. The monument is rectangular in shape (22 x 16 meters) and built of raw brick in the form of a cylindrical tower topped by a dome with bas-relief sculptures. During excavations many planks up to 3 meters long were found. Presumably the stupa was faced with red burnt bricks and stone blocks with scenes from Buddhist mythology.