Mannheim
3 October 2009
bis 21 February 2010
The Archeology of Central Asia
The oldest archaeological finds in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan date to the Mesolithic period. The first settlements emerged there during the Bronze Age, in the 2nd and early 1st millennium BC. Developments in building techniques, bronze casting and pottery production are attested by an abundance of finds.
With the region of Bandichan in southern Uzbekistan, which has been settled continuously since the Bronze Age until today, as example, the succession of settlement layers and the development in pottery over a time span of 1500 years are demonstrated.
The sequences disclose the most important disruptions between the various cultural epochs: between the Bronze Age and the Iron Age, the time of the Achaemenids and Alexander, and from the Seleucids to the Greek-Bactrian and ultimately the Kushan period.
Treasures from the Oxus Temple (Taxt-i Sangin)
The wealth and prosperity of Central Asia are reflected in the finds recovered from the Oxus Temple. This sanctuary lies in the south of present-day Tajikistan, next to the Amu-Darya river (the ancient Oxus river). The Amu-Darya also forms the modern border to Afghanistan.
The Oxus Temple was founded soon after Alexander?s conquest of Bactria in the 4th century BC. Thereafter the temple was destroyed and rebuilt several times, yet it remained an important cultic centre until the Kushan period (3rd/4th century AD). A Greek inscription on the socle of a bronze statue is evidence that the river god Oxus was worshipped here. Pilgrims made valuable offerings in this sanctuary. Many of the votive gifts are shown in the exhibition.
