and stanislav khashiMov 1 "The world is at peace on the walls of Persepolis as it never was in reality.While news of the Persian sack of Miletus was striking terror in the Athenian soul, artisans from near and far were carving dreams in stone for Darius." (Cool Root 1979:311)

Ancient Chorasmia in the period from around the sixth century BC to the second century AD was rich with large fortified sites, many containing monumental architecture. Some of these buildings were large halls, others smaller columned chambers. With particular reference to the site of Akchakhan-kala, this paper discusses the form, development and origins of Chorasmian columned halls.

This article examines a miniature silver vessel characterised by two elements: a depiction of a four-armed female deity embossed in its emblema, and a Chorasmian inscription externally incised around its rim, with a date relative to a specific "Chorasmian Era". The representation of the goddess is analysed iconographically and stylistically and considered in the light of the available archaeological data. It is argued that besides her iconography, which shows an array of stratified Central Asian and Indian elements, the stylistic traits of the four-armed goddess clearly indicate cultural exchanges between Ancient Chorasmia and the Eastern Roman Empire during the sixth century AD, at the end of which the specimen can be dated.

This study has received financial support from the French State in the frame of the "Investments for the Future" programme IdEx Bordeaux, reference ANR-10-IDEX-03-02.

This paper presents new and decisive evidence relative to the identification of one of the colossal depictions of deities discovered by the Karakalpak-Australian Expedition (KAE) at Akchakhan-kala with the Avestan yazata Sraosha. Besides the therianthropic Sraošāvarez, the explicit Zoroastrian symbol that decorates the tunic of this god, new iconographic details are seen. One is the sraošō.caranā, which is a whip, “the instrument of Srōsh”, held in the hands of one of these “bird-priests” instead of the customary barsom. The symbols are presented and discussed in their historical context.