Saparov N.Zh., Torgoev A.I.

Key words: Bukhara, Paikend residential quarter, periodisation of pottery and coins, allocation of the local fire in the residential quarter.
At Paikend (modern Uzbekistan) we have investigated most of the residential quarter of the 7th–8th cc. The quarter was divided into two equal parts by a main wall. The northern part of the large corner house, as well as the neighboring house, revealed evidence of a strong fire, whereas the other houses in the quarter showed none. Analysis of the pottery from the burnt layers and from the rest of the house allowed concluding that the location actually comprised two complexes dating to different periods. The complex that shows traces of fire dates to the middle – third quarter of the 8th c., whereas the other one belongs to the middle of the 7th – beginning of the 8th cc. The dates are confirmed by the distribution of coins in the layers. Contrary to previous assumptions, the fire cannot be interpreted as the one that accompanied the seizure of Paikend by the Arabs in 706, since it was of a local nature.