Sarah Living on the New Earth

A Golden Ram and a Stone Lion, found in a tomb at the archaeological site of Gonur Depe (2400-1600 BC) in Turkmenistan. The finger in the background shows how small these figures are, demonstrating the extraordinary skill of the craftsmen. Long before Merv raised its first tower, Bronze Age villages were assembling along the Murgab River in what is called Margiana Oasis. The greatest of these ancient settlements, currently being excavated around Gonur Depe, has stunned archaeological world for its vast area and complex layout. Gonur Depe (Grey Hill) along ancient delta of Murghab River, not far from the Afghan border, seems to have been settled during three main periods: 2300-1900 BC; 1900-1700 BC, a reconstruction after what may have been a large fire; and 1700-1500 BCE, after which it was apparently abandoned. Settlement was on the right bank of the ancient river, like ancient Indus settlements. There were also water reservoirs, smaller settlements in the area, graveyards with remains "confirming high social status of the buried", ritual animal burials, workshops for smelting bronze, possible palaces and much more. "Gonur's culture shows many similarities with those of the Near and Middle East and Indus . . .. The method of burning the minerals [used in beads and mosaics] in order to facilitate their handling is known at monuments in the Indus Valley civilisation, starting from the Neolithic (Vidale 1989). Harappan seals were produced mainly from steatite after it had been fired (Masson 1977:149)" (p. 48). There is little doubt that there were direct connections with ancient Indus cities; the author who has long worked at the site writes "Victor Sarianidi underlined the fact that the trade routes of the so-called Silk Road began to develop long before the silk trade. They started to be used in the Bronze Age, if not earlier. It was through the contact and interaction of various cultural traditions, and the peaceful coexistence of different economic-cultural types in Central Asia in general, and Turkmenistan in particular, that people had the opportunity to enrich one another with the latest knowledge and technology, and moreover to create a brilliant centre of world culture (Sarianidi 2012b:157)" (p. 53). The discoveries were first made in 1972 by Russian-Greek archaeologist Viktor Sarianidi, who continually uncovered new findings. Sarianidi considered Gonur to be one of the great civilisations of the ancient world and while this claim may be disputed, it is a fascinating site. What is certain, is that Gonur is one of the oldest fire-worshipping civilisations, parallel to the Bactrian cultures in neighbouring Afghanistan. The first agricultural settlements appeared in the area around 7000 BC, developing a strong agriculture. It is believed the city was slowly abandoned during Bronze Age as Murgab River changed course, depriving the city of water. The current excavations have been dated back to 3000 BC. Sarianidi believed that Gonur was the birthplace of first monotheistic religion, Zoroastrianism, being at some point the home of the religion’s founder, Zoroaster. The adjacent sites have revealed four fire temples, as well as evidence of a cult based around a drug potion prepared from poppy, hemp and ephedra plants. This potent brew is almost certainly the haoma (soma elixir) used by the magi whom Zoroaster began preaching against in Zoroastrian texts. The Hermitage - St. Petersburg #archaeohistories