Systematic long-term investigations by wide areas, subordinated to tasks systematic researches of city as a whole, made it possible to create and to improve the procedure of excavations, which maximally corresponds to conditions of Penjkent. As a result, the accuracy of dating of layer and buildings is achieved of up to 50 years (but for some it is layer of up to 20 years), thus far yet not available on other Central-Asian monuments of ancient and epochs of early-Middle Ages.

Broad spectrum of the monuments of the artistic culture of Sogd in 5C - 8C and first of all wall paintings of hundreds meters square and the mass nature of use in the decoration of the buildings of carved tree, they made the fortification of Penjikent (especially in the first years of excavations) as the field laboratory. In which the optimum methods of conservation and restoration of the early Middle Ages monuments of art of Sogd were developed and were tested. Subsequently the methods found to themselves a successful use on other Central-Asian monuments and far beyond its limits. And finally the fortification of Penjikent became (and it go on to remain today) the present school for several generations of researchers, which work in Moscow and in Leningrad, in Tajikistan, in Kazakhstan, in Uzbekistan.

The fortification of Penjikent consists of extensive citadel with three fortified zones. Strictly city - Shakhristana, and also suburban estates and ancient cemetery were enclosed by fortress wall.

City was built in 5C, but it was apparently earlier that the well-defended settlement appeared in the territory of citadel. The initial area of Shakhristana was about 8 ha, in 6C they enlarged to the east and to the south, after encircling by new wall, thus remains of approximately two periods of divided in the internal and external city (total area 13.5 ha) arose. The internal wall was reconstructed several times, and then demolished in the beginning of 8C.

The center section of Shakhristana of Penjikent in 5C was occupied with the extensive rectangular sacred section with two temples, between themselves on the similar planning. Each temple had two courts: east and west, moreover through the eastern court they went out to the street, and in west on the platform the main building stood by facade to the east. The temples were reconstructed many times, but in this case their essential features remained. The basis of the composition of court of temple was road from the east to the west - column of entrance portico to the narrow ramp, on which they rose to the platform of main building. The building of temple had the wide portico, in which the four-column hall was discovered, which did not have eastern wall. In the inner part of hall the door was located into rectangular Sella of temple. Gallery went around halls and Sella from three sides.

The main statues of temple were not preserved, but in temple 1 (southern) at the end of 5C - the beginning of 6C there was a special accommodation for the sacred fire, but in temple 2 (northern), apparently, it were seen a little aqueous element.

The basic territory of Shakhristana occupied extensive residential sections with hundreds of multi-room apartment houses, with the workshops, by benches, by markets, by the network of streets and alleys. Most fully (already exceeding third of fortification of over the area) are investigated now the buildings and the layers of first fourth of 8C. It permitted to judge the structure of the Central-Asian city of the pre-Islamic time, when the building of housing in Penjikent finally merges into the blocks - continuous zones from each other adjacent by the lateral and rear walls of two- and three-storied houses. The closed facades form continuous wall along the street. Houses had the different number of rooms, not in all of them there were special ceremonial halls, but were buildings elevated at one and with the same sufficiently high construction- technical level - among them there are no "cabins", which indicates the welfare even of ordinary townspeople. The area of ordinary dwelling comprises on the average of approximately 60m2, wealthy house (palace) reached 2100m2. Approximately third of houses had the ceremonial accommodations, decorated with carving along the tree and wall paintings. These houses belonged to nobility: landowners and merchants. To many of the wealthy dwellings from the side of street attached the benches and the workshops, from which there is no passage to house. Apparently, ordinary townspeople - craftsmen and small merchants, who worked and dealt in these accommodations, leased them from representatives of nobility.

Paintings and wooden sculpture decorated ceremonial accommodations in the house of each any wealthy townsman. The ceremonial halls (usually with the high wooden ceiling) were painted. Straight or elbow-shaped corridors lead into such halls, and frequently also other accommodations, room with the altar- center near the wall, portico or Lojiya with the entrance into the house and so on. Sizes of ceremonial hall changes from 30 to 250 m2. In the plan they are square or rectangular with the rectangular "apse". Square halls frequently had a ceiling, which was supported on four columns. The palace of Devashtich in the citadel is very similar to the houses of wealthy persons of Penjikent - indeed the sovereign of Penjikent was only "first among the equal" in respect of the urban nobility. But in his palace there were four ceremonial halls: three were squares and one was rectangular.

In the suburban zone it is investigated ancient cemetery of urban. In the small rectangular ground-based buildings were tombs-Naus kept ceramic ‘vessel for preserving bones’-Ossuari, in which the bones of dead persons all cluttered up from soft covers were located. Naus were constructed from 5C - 6C and 8C. Together with the Ossuarni burials in the outskirts of Penjikent are known the burials of the bones in large vessel-jars and in the graves (as a body in the bottomed and the catacombs).

In Penjikent, together with the composed bulk of population of adherents of the local religion (Zoroastrianism with the very strong heathen tradition), also the Christians lived, Buddhists and Moslems appeared in 8C. These religions were extended also among the people of Sogd. The part of the burials in the graves, apparently, belonged to Christians of Penjikent.

In the jars painting local deities are testified approximately at the turn of 5C to 6C. The wide acceptance of stamped terracotta small Obraz belongs to 6C, and disappeared at the beginning of 8C. These small Obraz (as the separate figurines of the same gods) served, probably, by icons in the general houses. In the wealthy houses there were analogous images in the paintings on the wall opposite the entrance in the ceremonial hall corresponded to them. The disappearance of terracotta small Obraz was during the bloom of city, possibly, testifies about their replacement by more expensive picturesque icons on the boards - they are known on the findings in East Turkestan, but could not be preserved under the climatic conditions of Penjikent. The clay toys in the form of animals or riders connected with the spring rite become more complete at the turn of 7C to 8C. Special stamps for printing figurines of the riders appeared, which were modeled by hand or were printed by the stamps, intended to produce the existing figures.

Artistic pottery making is tightly connected with the production of terracotta. In 5C - 7C the tableware they generously decorated with red Angob (lacquer). In two centuries the leading varieties of cups and jugs were changed several times. The separate workshops had their favorite forms and methods of finishing. At the end of 7C - 8C in connection with the overall economic and cultural lift, artistic ceramics is extended, form and decor of which reflect the influence of expensive silver mugs, cups and jugs.

In Penjikent, several bronze vessels of 8C are found - the predecessors of the bloom of bronze art of Central Asia in 10C - 12C. On the exhibition are widely presented the articles of cast-bronze of Penjikent - collections of mirror with the figured knobs rings, link, belt and harness and so on. The belts clearly show the connection of the people of Sogd with the Turks populated steppes, for whom the belt was one of the important attributes of soldier. The bone artistic articles, among of which is especially interesting the fragment of plate with the figure of the bridled horse, also show the proximity of settled and nomad cultures.

Developed business of city of Sogd was reflected in findings of personal seals and their impressions in Buddhas hanging to the documents and in the ceramic vessels. In one of the houses documents were preserved from the entire particular archive, burnt in 722. Sogdian wrote either with India ink with the aid of the writing implements or by metallic style on the wax plates, or knocking out inscriptions on the stone.

Ancient Penjikent reached the greatest bloom in first fourth of 8C, when its ruler of Devashtich declared himself "tsar of Sogd, by lord of Samarkand". The capital of the country of Sogd, located in the Valleys of Zeravshan and Kashkadari, was Samarkand, but Arab conquerors placed there their garrison, mastered it in 711. Principality of Penjikent, as other lots of Sogd, was subordinated to Arab caliphate at first, then it rose against it. After one of uprisings in 720s, inhabitants left Penjikent, and it remained unpopulated of 15 years. About 740, after concluding peace treaty with the Arabs, the people of Sogd returned and restored their houses, but temples were not restored. On the spot of the palace of Devashtich in the citadel were arranged barracks, probably, for the Arab garrison. After middle of 8C in many houses they began to spoil and to destroy domestic altars, and also images of gods and people, it apparently, testifies about the passage of townspeople into Islam. During the end of 770s or in the beginning of 780s entire Sogd was enveloped by uprising Mukanna and inhabitants left the city. Later Penjikent they built at the new place, and the territory of city of 5C - 8C was finally dilapidated.