What is your favourite find from the silk road citadels? Joshua (15) and Luke (12)

The city I was working on in Kazakhstan was called Kuik-Mardan, and it was quite an important site within the Otrar oasis. The town consisted of three parts: the citadel, the fortified inner town and the suburbs.

My favourite finds from this excavation were actually the walls that were made of mudbricks! Mudbricks are made of wet mud that is shaped and then left to dry in the sun. It was very challenging to excavate, especially because we have nothing like it in the UK, which means we had to learn a lot of new techniques to expose them!

Of course we had many other exciting finds such as whole pottery vessels but uncovering the buildings and being able to map the site remain my favourite parts!

Odile, October 2025

Answered by:

Odile Rouard

Hello, my name is Odile Rouard. I’ve always been interested in archaeology and the understanding of ancient cultures, since I started reading Greek mythology as a child.

I have been working as a professional archaeologist for many years and am looking forward to answering any questions you have about archaeology.

I graduated from York University and have worked on excavations in France, in Ireland and in England of course; I even helped train students in field archaeology on a Silk Road citadel in Kazakhstan!
I have just moved to Orkney to start a new adventure and am now taking part in Viking tours and helping children discover archaeology.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Odile

Would it be useful for archaeologists have a specifically designed robot that can detect finds for them, and as a result minimise environmental damage? Charlie (14)

First of all, I am not sure if you are aware but archaeologists do use many non-invasive techniques prior to excavation. Those include aerial photography (taking images from […]

What is your most valuable find? Rye (10)

Well, Rye, I must say I do get asked that question a lot so thank you for asking it on here! In archaeology, the most ‘valuable find’ is […]

When did you decide you wanted to become an archaeologist like what inspired you? Ethan (13)

Dear Ethan, it seems to me like I always wanted to become an archaeologist! But I guess what inspired me the most is mythology. And especially Greek and […]