There is no academic agreement as to the nature of the structure at Akyrtas. Some believe it have been the summer residence of the Karluk khagans during the height of their power from the 8th-10th centuries AD. Judging by the remains of its foundations, a palace certainly existed here. They think that the site represents the ruins of the settlement of Kasribas. Other researchers believe that it was a palace, or a caravanserai. The Russian academic Vasily Bartold thought that it may have been a Nestorian monastery, drawing attention to a carving of a fish, a Christian symbol, on one stone block. Whatever the case, the building was designed using very modern concepts, and excavations have revealed a most ingenious water distribution system. The site seems to have been abandoned in an unfinished condition and archaeologists have uncovered no evidence of human habitation.
