Ancient mysteries appear in the Turkmenistan desert

More than four millennia ago, the fortress town of Gonur-Tepe may have been a rare civilization before it was buried for centuries under the dust of the desert Kara Kum, Turkmenistan.

After being discovered by former Soviet archaeologists in the last century, Gonur-Tepe, once home to thousands of people and the center of a strong development area, has gradually revealed the mysteries of it and new artifacts were found after each summer excavation.

The scale of this site is extremely large, stretching over 30ha and people can only see it fully from the air. Up high, the town's old buildings look like a labyrinth in the desert, surrounded by high walls.

Only 50 km from the famous ancient city of Merv and outside the city of Mary, Gonur-Tepe ruins are a sign of wealth in Turkmenistan's archaeological works, one of the world's most isolated countries. .

Around 2000 BC, Gonur-Tepe was the main settlement point of Margush or Margiana region and was home to one of the highest civilizations but little known in the Bronze Age.

Gonur-Tepe still contains many secrets

This site was found by the famous archaeologist Viktor Sarianidi of the Soviet Union. This year at 84, but he still intends to work one more summer in the ruins.

"I remember very well my happiness when I first came into contact with the Klondike archaeological site. A very strong feeling is right under your feet," the Russian professor told AFP news agency.

Every archaeological season in Gonur-Tepe often brings important discoveries, showing the very high level of craftsmanship of Bronze Age artisans in this town.

They can melt metal, make gold and silver ingots, create materials for worship, know how to manipulate bones and stones.

"It's amazing to know that the people here have possessed very modern skills. The craftsmen here have transformed the shape of natural high-temperature stones and then enameled them out." - archaeologist Nadezhda Dubova said.

"This year, Gonur brings us a new surprise, a beautiful mosaic, " she said, saying that such mosaics date back even earlier than the time when the mosaic was created in Greece and La. Code.

Gonur-Tepe ruins are the center of a network of towns and settlements within the Morghab river delta that flow through Turkmenistan from water resources in Afghanistan.

Gonur-Tepe is located about 3 hours away from the center of Mary's province, crossing the now co-operative cooperatives that are not used.

Mary, 380km from Ashgabat, is a typical provincial city in Turkmenistan, where 200,000 people live and is built primarily in Soviet style with connected railways and high-rise apartment buildings.

About 30km from Mary is another region's glory: the ruins of the city of Merv, which once held a very important position during the Persian Empire and peaked under Turkic leadership during the century 12 AD.

Merv fell into recession after being raided by the Mongols in 1221 in a deadly conquest that left tens of thousands of people dead. Its ruins are now as lonely as Gonur-Tepe ruins.

"In this area there are 354 archaeological sites and 95% of them for
so far has not been researched by experts " (Source: AFP)

The largest treasure of this ruin is the carefully preserved Seljuk Sultan Sanjar. Under the time of this leader, Merv was a city of 200,000 people and was one of the world's most populous settlements.

According to Turksmenistan architect and historian Ruslan Muradov, this mausoleum is more than 17 meters in diameter and is itself a design revolution.

The dome of the mausoleum was "300 years ahead of the ideas of the great Filippo Brunelleschi Renaissance architect" , who designed the large dome in Florence's church.

Unlike Gonur-Tepe, the Merv ruins have been mined since the time of Russian Tsar, when Turkmenistan remained an outpost in the Russian Empire. It has been included in the World Heritage List by UNESCO since 1999.

According to Viktor Turik, a historian working at the Mary Museum of History, archaeologists have only explored a small part of Mary's area rich in archaeological sites.

Gonur-Tepe remains still intact. (Source: AFP)

"In this area there are 354 archaeological sites and 95% of them so far have not been researched by experts" - he said.

Turkmenistan is still one of the most isolated countries in the world, but still attracts a large number of visitors each year, mostly in specially organized tours.

Mary only has 3 hotels, although President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov recently ordered the construction of a 350-room hotel to enhance tourism.

Meanwhile, there are still unanswered questions about what to do with the excavated gold and silver artifacts in the area and will need to undergo a careful restoration and preservation process.

An employee recommended anonymity by the national heritage agency Turkmenistan, saying that a conservation project was planned to work with the Louvre in Paris, but was unsuccessful.

"Many unique findings, unlike anything else in the world, are waiting for their shining moment in the treasures of the Turkmenistan museums," he said.