Ancient site · City
Gonur Depe
The largest centre of the Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex, in the old Murghab delta north of Merv, Turkmenistan. Excavated by Viktor Sarianidi, its fortified core held a palace, courtyards and buildings he saw as fire temples, inside walls with rectangular towers.
A cemetery of more than 3,000 graves included rich tombs, one with a four-wheeled wagon and a foal, and goods linked to Iran and the Indus. Sarianidi's 'temple' readings are much debated.
- Dates
- c. 2400–1600 BCE
- Still standing
- No, or only traces
- Location
- 38.21° N, 62.03° E
How we know
No writing has been found; dated by radiocarbon and by excavations from 1974 to 2013.
Nearby sites
- Merv city c. 550 BCE–18th century CE
- Altyn-Depe c. 3200–2000 BCE; urban c. 2400–2000 BCE
- Jeitun c. 6000 BCE, for a few centuries
- Tillya Tepe graves c. 1st century BCE–1st century CE
- Sarazm c. 3500–2000 BCE (radiocarbon range 3900–2100 BCE)
- Ai-Khanoum c. 290–145 BCE
Related
- Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex (Oxus civilisation) archaeological culture
- The world in 3000 BCE: The First Kings chapter