Фоновое изображение

Structures in front of the

facade wall

During the archaeological investigations of 1986-1989, a complex of rooms was excavated in front of the façade wall of Khalifa Erezhep, which was attached to the façade wall.

The layout of the complex is based on a rectangular courtyard adjacent to the entrance to the building (8.35 x 3.7 m). On the eastern side of the courtyard there were several rooms erected of burnt brick.  Judging by the design of room No. 1 (part of the floor is paved with fired brick, the presence of a water drainage), this was a room intended for ablutions. Probably, some of the adjacent rooms could have had residential purposes.  It can be assumed that on the western side of the courtyard (this part was not excavated) there were also rooms. The lack of datable materials makes it difficult to date of erection this complex. Most likely, it was built in the first half of the 15th century.

The appearance of the complex of premises reflects new conditions in the functioning of the monument as a mausoleum, and is associated with both the need to maintain the building and certain regulations for visiting it by pilgrims (the third stage in the history of the existence of the Khalifa Erezhep).

Изображение

excavation results

This complex of premises ceased to exist as a result of the collapse of the facade wall of the Khalifa Erezhep, the rubble of which covered it. The subsequent collapse of the dome ended the history of the functioning of Khalifa Erezhep as a mausoleum. It can be assumed that this happened in the 17th-18th centuries. Excavations inside the mausoleum and the space in front of it showed that the ruins of the building and the surrounding area subsequently retained their significance as a holy place. It began to be actively used for burials according to the Muslim rite of burial and the construction of burial structures (sagana) (the fourth stage in the history of the existence of the Khalifa Erezhep).