"Por-Bazhyn" in translation from the Turvin language means "clay house". The first mention of this fortress is found in the literature of 1701 - "The Drawing Book of Siberia". Almost two hundred years later it was examined by an archaeologist, who was the first to note the similarity with the ancient city of Karakorum, the capital of the Mongol Empire. And only in 1957, full-fledged excavations began.
All that remains of the fortress are the destroyed walls, arranged in the shape of a rectangle and oriented to the cardinal points. In some areas, the walls were up to ten meters high. In the middle part of the eastern wall are the remains of a gate and fortified perverse towers. Also, members of the archaeological expedition were able to find the remains of dwellings and other buildings. In these places, they found iron nails, fragments of dishes made of ceramics and stones and other ancient artifacts.
So far there are only assumptions about the purpose of this settlement. At first, historians believed that it was a monastery, most likely a Buddhist one. But after the bones of rams were found in some places, this version was refuted. Another version was associated with the Great Silk Road from China to Europe, the guard post of which could be Por-Bazhyn. But this version did not come true either, since even the northernmost branches of the Silk Road ran a thousand kilometers south of the fortress.
Later, researchers suggested that, most likely, Por-Bazhyn was built as a summer residence of the Uyghur kagan. This assumption is also associated with one legend that the kagan built a fortress for the Chinese princess, who was his wife. However, as the legend says, six months after the wedding, the kagan suddenly died. The Uyghur people, according to their tradition, intended to bury their wife along with the deceased kagan, but the Chinese princess categorically opposed this, and they did not touch her.
In 2007-2008, another large study of Por-Bazhyn was carried out. As a result, it was possible to restore the entire original appearance of the settlement. It turned out that its dimensions were 211 by 158 meters. Along the three walls there were rooms built of raw bricks and measuring 7 by 8 meters. Most likely, it was housing for servants, guards and artisans. In the middle there were two palace buildings, between which a six-meter covered walkway was built. One of the buildings could very well be a temple. The thickness of the walls has reached and even exceeded one meter - the winter temperature in these places reaches 45 degrees. The walls used to have frescoes in shades of orange and red.
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Unusual scientists thought there were a very small number of artifacts found during excavations. During those few decades, while the fortress existed, only a few women's jewelry, animal bones and blacksmith's blanks were found here. There were no burials in the fortress either, only one was found - and then outside of it.
These results suggest that Por-Bazhyn was a summer residence for the Uighur kagans and other government officials. The place was really very conducive to such a seasonal vacation: lake fish, wild animals, mountain air and nearby hydrogen sulfide springs.
But the question remained - why was it necessary to build a fortress on the island: how to place builders here, how to deliver construction materials and equipment. It turned out that due to frequent earthquakes, underwater sources that feed the lake disappeared several times. As a result, the lake itself disappeared. It is likely that Por-Bazhyn was built at one of these moments. This is evidenced by the traces of the road found at the bottom of the lake. Subsequently, the springs were renewed, the lake was filled, and the fortress was cut off from the land.
They did not begin to restore the fortress, because, probably, they considered this place rather unsafe as a summer residence. Although the locals believe that on the island even now you can see ghosts on horseback in uniforms corresponding to the era of the kaganate.