Art of the First Cities: The Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus | Explore & Learn

Death and Burial: Western Central Asia

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The most extensive cemetery discovered in western Central Asia lies near the ancient city of Gonur-depe in the Karakum desert. Thousands of tombs dating from the end of the third millennium B.C. have been excavated and the objects buried with the bodies have demonstrated links with distant regions: the Indus Valley, Bactria, Iran, the Arabian Gulf, and even Egypt. They testify to the region as a major crossroad for the caravan routes linking western Central Asia with the Mediterranean.


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Images, from top to bottom: Vessels with guilloche and zigzags, late 3rd–early 2nd millennium B.C. Western Central Asia, Gonur-depe, necropolis. Tomb 1750. The National Museum of Turkmenistan Named After Saparmurat Turkmenbashi, Ashgabat. Compartmented stamp seal with winged goddess on a dragon, late 3rd–early 2nd millennium B.C. Western Central Asia, Gonur-depe, Tomb 570. The National Museum of Turkmenistan Named After Saparmurat Turkmenbashi, Ashgabat. Composite seated female figure, late 3rd–early 2nd millennium B.C. Western Central Asia, Gonur-depe, Tomb 1799. The National Museum of Turkmenistan Named After Saparmurat Turkmenbashi, Ashgabat.

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