As it was informed by number of Turkmen and Russian mass media last week, Head of International Turkmen Russian archaeological expedition, Deputy Director of the Institute of History and Tangible Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences Natalya Solovyeva, the member of representative delegation of Saint Petersburg, has presented 3-D model of ceramic altar, which is more than 4,000 years old and has been discovered at Parhay-depe Settlement in Balkan Velayat in the beginning of 80s of the last year, as a gift to the Museum of Visual Arts of Turkmenistan.
At that time, we were the part of one country, therefore, findings from the Union’s republics, which are independent states now, have been brought to Moscow and Leningrad where leading scientific institutes, which sponsored and carried out excavations all over the state, were located.
It is impossible to return ancient artefacts due to Russian legislation, therefore, they have found a compromise to present 3-D model of one of the ancient archaeological findings at the territory of modern Turkmenistan to Ashgabat museum.
Made using latest digital technologies from polymeric materials, this model of the altar is absolutely identical to the original with subtle details.The only difference is the weight; the copy is much lighter.
Unlike European museums, which back in XIX century, were making their oriental collection by buying artefacts in bazars and due to corruption in Asian and African countries, archaeological materials from Central Asia have been delivered on legal basis.
They have been discovered by soviet expeditions and have never been taken out of the country.However, the country broke apart and the findings appeared to be overseas without moving anywhere as they were stored in the fund of scientific institutes where they remain until now.
Such paradox situation is probably unprecedented and unfortunately, there is no any legal mechanism to return the findings to the country of origin so far.In the meantime, latest achievements in digital sphere allows solving this problem partially.
Today, almost all big museums of the world making huge database of their treasuries and 3-D models of their exhibits are available on their websites.Any internet user is able to make a virtual tour around exhibition halls of such famous cultural and scientific centres as Saint Petersburg’s Hermitage, Paris’s Louvre and New York’s Metropolitan.
The same work is carried out in museums of Turkmenistan.Models of artefact printed at 3-D printers such as Parhay’s altar look very impressive and cannot be distinguished from the original.
Natalya Solovyeva said specially for the website “Turkmenistan: Golden Age” what the altar is and what is his historical value.According to her words, archaeology has the most advanced technologies these days and 3-D modelling is one of the samples of its implementation.
The Institute of History and Tangible Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences is a leading organization in this sphere today.This is proven by the only 3-D model of Syrian Palmira made by the scientists from Saint Petersburg, - she noted.
Parhay has become famous in scientific circles after the excavations, which were carried out by our prominent archaeologist, Doctor of Historic Sciences Igor Khlopin for many years, N.Solovyeva noted.
This is a funeral monument in the western outskirt of Magtumguly town (formerly Karakala) in the Sumbar river valley.It includes two catacomb burial sites of the Bronze Age, which are known in archaeology as Parahay I and II.
They existed in the middle and second half of the III B.C.and fill the gap between the Eneolithic and late Bronze ages in this region related to early and developed Bronze ages.
It goes without saying that discovery of and publication of such unique objects allowed introducing huge new material into scientific world, which allowed getting closer to solution of number of problems of development of the culture of Southwestern Turkmenistan in IV-II B.C.
Opening of funeral chambers demonstrated that this ancient cemetery was unordinary and not one-time only monument.Igor Khlopin, who was engaged in study of the monuments throughout the quarter of century, have come to conclusions, which allowed him to outline the main milestones of ancient history of the population of this region.
Analysing different funerary offerings of Parhay including vessels, he used to highlight that there are no other monuments with the same ceramics in the south of Central Asia so far.
By number of indications, he found out that local population has moved from primitive condition (gathering and hunting) to production farming together with the population of the northern foothill plain of the Kopetdag.
In addition, it was found out that population of both historical and cultural regions was related, which is indicated by similarity of their ceramic ware.According to Khlopin, it may indicate their language similarity for such early period.
Discrepancies between these regions in cultural aspect has happened later when polychrome dish painting has spread out in the Kopetdag oases while production of grey clay ceramics has started in Sumbar and Etrek Valleys.
However, big movement of the population of Hyrkania (the name that ancient Greek authors used for this region) across Central Asia, which has started quietly and received global expansion in developed Bronze Age later, had happened further.
This is back then, according to Khlopin, when the bases of many modern Eurasian nations have been established. “21 altar, where 17 of them were quite preserved, have been discovered in funeral chambers of Parahay.
These subjects are unique and have no analogues among the monuments of primitive culture of Central Asia and Near East.The most expressive altar has been chosen to make a copy, - N.
Solovyeva noted.All of them are represented by rectangular vessels with four legs at the corners.The walls of the vessel have cups and sculptural heads of bulls or lamb made quite realistically.
In addition, stucco images of animals and solar symbols were placed at exterior edges of the vessel”.When the first altar has been found, archaeologists immediately had a question about its purpose.
It is obvious that it was related to some beliefs and cults of Parhay residents and was not made for daily use.The book of I.Khlopin (which was published after his death) reviews the symbols, which shed the light on these mysterious artefacts, in details.
Scientists have come to conclusion that they have been used as sacrifice altars during magic ritual related to coming of New Year according to ancient farming calendar and beginning of spring field works.
In other words, the main content of these rituals included praying of harvest of new year.Nevertheless, this is only one of the versions.Undoubtedly, Parahay’s altars will be in the focus of scientists again.
It is left to add that this year, International scientific conference “Ancient and medieval cultures of Central Asia and Middle East (establishment, development and collaboration of urbanized and livestock farming communities)”, which is dedicated to the 90th anniversary of I.
Khlopin and 100th anniversary of his colleague, another outstanding oriental archaeologist Anatoly Mandelstam, who was also closely related to Turkmenistan with his studies, will be hosted in Saint Petersburg this year.