Tsvetkova T.G.

Key words: Bukhara, Varakhsha, carved ganch, ornamental motif, poppyhead.
The article presents a find from the excavations at Varakhsha, the country seat of the early medieval rulers of Bukhara. The Central Asia archaeological expedition of the State Museum of Oriental Arts (Moscow) has collected a large amount of carved ganch elements of architectural decor from the 8th c., the themes and ornamental motifs of which have analogies at Parthian and especially Sassanian sites in Iran, Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. One of the themes, a poppyhead, is unique and has no analogies in carved ganch decor.