Russian scientists excavating at the ancient archaeological complex Gonur-depe in Mary region of Turkmenistan have discovered a complete set of an unknown ancient board game.
Director of the Institute of History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IIMK RAS) Andrei Polyakov told reporters.
"This year we made a unique find - a set of figures for a certain game was found in one of the burials. Figurines were found earlier, but they were scattered - here one figure, there another. And now we got a set, which includes 12 stone figures of pyramidal shape, 8 stone balls, 3 processed serpentinite stones, 3 pieces in the form of pistachio fruits, 2 shells and imitation of cowrie shells. Undoubtedly, this is a complete set," the TASS news agency quoted the scientist as saying.
During the recent excavations, Polyakov added, scientists also discovered a large seal depicting a bull trampling a snake and other artefacts related to the local ancient culture.
According to him, now the scientists will have to work with the sources for a long time to understand the purpose, essence and rules of the ancient game of the disappeared culture of people who lived in the territory of Gonur-depe settlement in the Karakum Desert.
In the Bronze Age, at the turn of the III-II millennia B.C., oases flourished here, around which the Margush or Margiana civilisation was formed, which is attributed to the Bactrian-Margiana archaeological complex.
Credits: Eziz Boyarov
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