The ruins of thousands of fortresses are scattered across the endless expanses of the Khorezm steppes, but the ruins of the Fortress of Perished Sheep - Koi-Krylgan-Kala are truly unique. The fortress was found by archaeologists of the Khorezm expedition by chance in 1938. The archaeologists were surprised, first of all, by the shape of the ancient building, unseen until now in Khorezm: a powerful citadel with the remains of a defensive wall turned out to be not square or rectangular, as they used to see, but round. Outside, the fortifications were in the form of a regular circle, in the center of which there was a citadel, it was surrounded by an external defensive wall with towers. The space between the central building and the wall - the "ring", as it was conventionally called, turned out to be completely built up. The earthen structure was colossal: the diameter of the central building was 42 m,the height in the best-preserved part is about 8 m, the diameter of the entire structure is about 90 m.
Thousands of fragments of magnificent pottery were scattered on the sand dunes around the fortress and on its ruins. From them, as well as from other finds, in particular, from bronze arrowheads, it was possible to establish that the most ancient of the then known monuments of Ancient Khorezm was before the archaeologists. The earliest finds belonged to the 4th - 3rd centuries. BC e.
In 1950, a new stage of excavations began on the ruins of the fortress. As a result, it became clear that the fortress went through two stages of its development. An earlier stage dates back to the 4th-3rd centuries BC. The second era of the fortress's life dates back to the first centuries AD. It was discovered that in the early stages of development, the central part of the fortress was destroyed by fire. It still remains a mystery whether it was accidental or deliberate.
Koi-Krylgan-kala was a powerful, well-fortified fortress with several defensive walls, which were destroyed over time, they were traced only in a small area. Such fortifications are typical for all monuments of antiquity and the early Middle Ages of Khorezm.
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Based on the research of archaeologists, the Fortress of the Dead Sheep is one of the most ancient monuments of the ancient Khorezm statehood, a temple complex that partially plays the role of a burial place of some ancient king or queen.
The population of the fortress were Zoroastrians who worshiped the goddess of water and rivers - Anahita and the solar deity - Siyavush. What is interesting about this monument is the location of the central complex. Its western part was erected in honor of the goddess Anahita, and the eastern and southern parts, facing towards sunrise in honor of the sun god Siyavush, as evidenced by statuettes and fragments of vessels with images of gods.
The history of the Koy-Krylgan-kala fortress goes back thousands of years. Here were found the remains of the most ancient Assuaries in Central Asia, murals and inscriptions in the ancient Khorezm language. This fortress is still a mystery of history and is unique in its design among other fortresses of Ancient Khorezm.