The Cave of Kan-i-Gut
Kan-i-Gut Cave is located on the southern slope of the Djaman-Chul range, approximately 18 km west of the village of Samarkandyk in the Shadymir area. The local name is Zauk-Kur. It was formed by fissure-like separations of layers and active manifestations of ore karst processes. There are almost no dripstone formations. The cavity consists of numerous grottoes, deep pits (up to 40 m), chimneys, narrow interwoven passages, and corridors. Based on random archaeological finds, scientists conclude that the area adjacent to the cave was inhabited as early as the slave-owning period.
Lead and iron mining was conducted here from the 6th to the 11th centuries. The discovery of 23 copper Ferghana square coins indicates that ore extraction continued here in the late 18th to early 19th centuries. In 1850, the Kokand kurbashi visited the cave with several workers and saw an inscription at the cave entrance in a language unknown to him. Later, the entrance was destroyed, and the inscription disappeared. The name "Kan-i-Gut (Mine of Doom)" is associated with the Kokand khan Khudoyar, under whom those sentenced to death were lowered into the cave in search of mythical treasures and for silver extraction.
After the annexation of the Kokand Khanate to Russia in 1876, the famous Turkestan mining industrialist P.S. Nazarov visited the cave. He recognized the cave as a mine where iron and silver-lead ore could be extracted. Following him, Kan-i-Gut was explored in 1914 by a special expedition led by Professor A.A. Chernov, during which D.I. Shcherbakov and S.G. Alexandrov conducted a visual survey of the cave from the main entrance to the second pit. In 1917, the special commissioner for mining affairs under the Turkestan governor-general, mining engineer G.B. Leonov, concluded that the ore in Kan-i-Gut was rich in silver.
On a larger scale, scientific study of the cave began during the Soviet era. A special expedition studied the cave for 20 days. As a result, a second entrance was discovered, and a schematic profile was created from the main entrance to the left external exit, with a through main passage marked on the plan. The next expedition studied the cave in 1933. It was established that the cave consists of several tiers of underground passages connecting more than 30 chambers. The largest of them measures 68 m x 29 m and has a total volume of 100 thousand cubic meters.
As a result of recent speleological research, in which the author actively participated, knowledge about the Kan-i-Gut cave has significantly expanded. According to estimates, the length of the currently known part of the cave is about 30 km.
Four entrances to the cave have been established, with the shortest distance between them being over 1 km. It has also been confirmed that the large halls and a number of pits in Kan and Gut are of natural origin and their formation is related to karst processes. The cave's plan is significantly complicated by the activities of ancient miners who extracted lead and iron here from the 6th to the early 11th centuries. Despite all this, the study of Kan-i-Gut is not yet complete. The "Mine of Doom" is not only a remarkable object of historical and archaeological significance but also presents interest for speleological athletes and tourists, for whom it may be possible in the future to open and improve certain sections of the cave.
