Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Uzbekistan Bukhara "The Bug Pit" at Zindon Prison

"The Bug Pit" at Zindon Prison

Where Stoddart and Connolly suffered in the infamous Bug Pit.

Bukhara, Uzbekistan

Added By
Tawsam
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
View into the Bug Pit   http://thestanstrek.blogspot.de/2008/07/bu...
Mannequin, portraying a prisoner in the Bug Pit   http://www.flickr.com/photos/therealchrisp...
Outside of the Ark fortress   http://thestanstrek.blogspot.de/2008/07/bu...
Zindon Dungeon Entrance   alharoonsf / Atlas Obscura User
Zindon Dungeon   alharoonsf / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

In 1842, the British soldiers Connolly and Stoddart were executed in front of the Ark Fortress in Bukhara. It was the grim finale to years of torture (for Stoddart - four years) in the Zindon prison located within the fortress. However, the most famous resident of Zindon was not a person, but a place: "the Bug Pit," a four meter deep hole, accessible only by rope. This bleak pit is where Connolly and Stoddart spent their time in Zindon, while guards poured scorpions, bugs, and rodents onto their heads.

Stoddart suffered three years in the prison – more than one of which he whiled away in the Bug Pit - before Conolly was thrown down to join him; ironically, Conolly had the unfortunate fate of being sent to Bukhara to release Stoddart. They spent a year together in the Bug Pit, before the Emir finally had them executed.

The soldiers were victims of what can only be described as extreme blunders of sociopolitical etiquette. Stoddart was tasked with delivering a letter of reassurance to the Emir of Bukhara, stating that the British had no intention of continuing their invasion of Afghanistan into his kingdom. However, Stoddart had ridden into the castle on horseback rather than walking, and arrived without a gift for Nasrullah Khan, the Emir and an extremely brutal figure. Nicknamed "The Butcher," Nasrullah was outraged at these indignities, and viewed the British Empire as a weakened nation after their defeat in Afghanistan.  Regarding the two Brits as worthless, he had them jailed, tortured, and executed. The British Empire did not respond.

Today, the Bug Pit is but one of many gruesome places in the Zindon prison, in which mannequins eerily portray the conditions of imprisonment. Much of the rest of the enormous Ark fortress was destroyed by the Red Army's invasion in 1920, thereby putting an end to continual inhabitation of the fortress for more than 1,400 years.

Related Tags

Museums And Collections Crime And Punishment Memento Mori Dead Explorers Prisons
Atlas Obscura Adventures

Central Asia Road Trip: Backroads & Bazaars

A 2-Week, 4-Country Odyssey.

Book Now

Community Contributors

Added By

Tawsam

Edited By

jamesboneill, gwenleif, alharoonsf

  • jamesboneill
  • gwenleif
  • alharoonsf

Published

May 23, 2012

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • Lonely Planet Central Asia; 4th Edition; July 2007
  • http://www.abandonthecube.com/blog/bukhara-%E2%80%93-the-city-synonymous-with-medieval-torture/
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasrullah_Khan_(Bukhara)
"The Bug Pit" at Zindon Prison
Ark Fortress
Bukhara
Uzbekistan
39.777771, 64.4106
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Kalyan Minaret

Bukhara, Uzbekistan

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Bukhara

Bukhara

Uzbekistan

Places 2

Nearby Places

Kalyan Minaret

Bukhara, Uzbekistan

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Bukhara

Bukhara

Uzbekistan

Places 2

Related Places

  • The Commissariat from the vital Rover Brisbane side.

    Brisbane, Australia

    Commissariat Store

    Its most grisly object is a jar full of severed fingers allegedly cut off by prisoners to avoid work.

  • Cell Doors

    Dublin, Ireland

    Kilmainham Gaol

    One of Ireland's most infamous prisons for rebels including men, women and children.

  • Sam the Prisoner.

    Folsom, California

    Folsom Prison Museum

    This museum looks at the history of one of America's most famous prisons and most beloved albums.

  • Littledean Jail

    Littledean, England

    Littledean Jail and Museum of Crime

    A 200-year-old prison that now houses a peculiar crime museum.

  • The haunted-house-like entrance.

    London, England

    The Clink Prison Museum

    An incarceration museum on the spot of possibly the oldest prison in England.

  • The Hague, Netherlands

    Museum de Gevangenpoort (The Prison Gate Museum)

    A seven-century-old jail tells a not-so-pleasant history of crime and punishment.

  • Niš, Serbia

    Red Cross Concentration Camp

    A Red Cross memorial museum at the site of the Niš concentration camp that operated for four eventful years during World War II.

  • Library - Fort Delaware

    Delaware City, Delaware

    Fort Delaware

    A scenic fort on the harbor protected Philadelphia from an attack that never came.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.