2024 marks the 50th anniversary of the start of the first excavations at the world-famous archaeological site Gonur Depe in Ancient Margiana, or the so-called Margush (Mary province, Turkmenistan).
In 1972, the outstanding archaeologist Viktor Sarianidi discovered this ancient city, and from 1974 until the end of his life he studied the ancient site. Dr. Nadezhda Dubova, head of the Russian-Turkmen Margiana Archaeological Expedition, Head of the Center for Anthropoecology at the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, shared on the milestones of the past field season in an interview with the newspaper Neutral Turkmenistan.
Here is a summarized version of the interview:
Research focus in 2024
According to Dr.Dubova, the expedition continues Sarianidi’s legacy in cooperation with Turkmen specialists from the National Directorate of Turkmenistan for the Protection, Study and Restoration of Historical and Cultural Monuments.
Last year’s research focused on the immediate surroundings of the Central Gonur Palace and Temple Complex, which played a special role in ancient society. It was not a residential city in the usual sense. Practically no one lived there, except for the ruler, his family and the servants of the temples. People from all over the area came there to perform rituals, prayers, and to celebrate important holidays in the life of the country.
The most recent field season at Gonur-depe focused on exploratory work within the site’s immediate surroundings. This involved both visual surveys of the terrain and the documentation of ceramic concentrations, as well as the excavation of test pits, which revealed notable discoveries.
Consequently, five new settlements have been identified encircling Gonur-depe, situated within a radius of approximately 2 to 2.5 kilometers from the central complex. These are smaller settlements, and within one of them, Gonur 26, the surface layer yielded ceramics characteristic of pastoralist cultures. This included fragments of hand-formed vessels, distinguished by their ornamentation and lack of wheel-thrown construction. Conversely, deeper stratigraphic layers contained abundant fragments of wheel-made ceramics.
Furthermore, within Gonur 26, a remarkably well-preserved pottery kiln was unearthed and thoroughly investigated, retaining numerous structural elements.
Unique finds and their significance
Artifacts have been found at the nearby Gonur-20 settlement, which was explored by V.I. Sarianidi, and have significantly expanded the collections of Turkmenistan’s museums.
For example, an interesting set was discovered in one of the burials, consisting of 12 pyramid-shaped figures, 8 balls, 3 objects in the form of seeds, 3 pebbles made of serpentinite, shells and imitation cowry shells, made with amazing precision. 8 figures were covered with green glaze.
The researchers suggest that the chips could have been used in an ancient board game similar to the games of Mesopotamia. Previously, “game boards” with mosaic patterns similar to those from Mesopotamian Ur were found on Gonur.
Probably, Ancient Margiana and Mesopotamia had similar traditions of board games. Although it is possible that all these items were associated with unknown rituals.
New discoveries
One of the most significant finds was a rare polychrome painting on a cylindrical vessel found in 2019 at Gonur-20. Restored by the Museum of Fine Arts of Turkmenistan, it depicts the figure of a man holding a snake in his hand. The composition is made in black and red paint and opens a new page in the study of the art of the ancient Margush people.
Prospects for future research
According to Nadezhda Dubova, the Russian-Turkmen archaeological expedition plans to continue work in the Gonur oasis anticipating the discovery of numerous more refined works by Margian masters. This will further demonstrate the consistent high level of skill inherent in this ancient Eastern civilization. ///nCa, 6 March 2025 (photo credit – Neutral Turkmenistan)