Scientists were surprised to find a medieval metropolis atop mountains, providing new insights into life along the ancient trade route. “This changes everything we thought we knew.”

Archaeologists have mapped two lost cities of the Silk Road in Uzbekistan using drones and LiDAR. The fabled cities had lain buried under mountain pastures for centuries. Light detection and ranging technology (LiDAR) uses laser pulses to detect structures hidden beneath vegetation.

Archaeologists have discovered the remains of two medieval cities in Uzbekistan's southeastern mountains, perched above the ancient Silk Road trade route. The discovery, achieved using drone-based lidar technology, reveals previously unknown details about high-altitude urban life in Central Asia, National Geographic reported.

Two cities that flourished as part of the Silk Road have been mapped though drone-borne LiDAR, revealing them as two of the largest cities on the mountainous part of that world-changing path, or indeed anywhere at such altitude.

The first-ever use of cutting-edge drone-based lidar in Central Asia allowed archaeologists to capture stunning details of two newly documented trade cities high in the mountains of Uzbekistan.

Archaeologists have mapped two lost Silk Road cities in the mountains of Uzbekistan that were inexplicably abandoned hundreds of years ago.

Using drone-borne LiDAR technology, researchers mapped these medieval sites, uncovering large urban centers complete with fortresses, plazas, and pathways that may have housed thousands.

Archaeologists have recently uncovered two medieval cities along the ancient Silk Road in southeastern Uzbekistan.

On the Silk Road, these lost twin cities may have sustained themselves in a foreboding landscape with metallurgy and commerce

Researchers excavate medieval pottery at the newly rediscovered medieval Silk Road city Tugunbulak located in the mountains of southeastern Uzbekistan June 8, 2022 Michael Frachetti/Handout via REUTERS.