The exhibition "Margiana - the kingdom of the Bronze Age in Turkmenistan" moves from Hamburg to Mannheim
In the Hamburg Archeological Museum, the exhibition “Margiana - the kingdom of the Bronze Age in Turkmenistan”, which has been represented in Germany since April 2018, has completed. Now the exposition of archaeological finds in the heart of the fifth ancient civilization will go to the Rice-Engelhorn Museum Complex in Mannheim, in which 230 exhibits will stay until June 2019.
German archaeologists, cultural scientists, art historians and ordinary citizens alike enthusiastically spoke of the exhibition, introducing Europeans to the historical district in the east of Turkmenistan, recognized as the cradle of high culture of the Bronze Age. Previously, the existence of Margiana, quite commensurate within the scale of ancient Mesopotamia, was little known outside of professional circles.
Professor Dr. Rainer-Maria Weiss, director of the Hamburg Archeological Museum, who participated in the 2005 International Congress of Archaeologists in Ashgabat, was one of the initiators of the project “Margiana - the Kingdom of the Bronze Age in Turkmenistan”. According to him, the archaeological evidence of the mysterious culture of Margiana is worthy to be shown in all corners of the planet, introducing the world community with impressive findings of antiquity and the new look of Turkmenistan. On this topic, the scientist even recorded a podcast, which tells about the preparation of the exhibition and its embodiment.
The central place in the exhibition is devoted to the sensational results of archaeological research conducted in the capital of the ancient civilization, the ancient metropolis of Gonurdepe - jewelry, statues, everyday objects. Together with photographers, archaeologists restored the appearance of a thriving metropolis that was located in the delta of the Murghab River and served as one of the key points of the Great Silk Road between China, India, Iran and the Middle East.
Now anyone can look at Gonurdepe, behind the imposing fortress wall of which the city was located in the city - a fortified palace complex surrounded by numerous handicraft, commercial and residential quarters.
The discoveries of rich tombs, in which dignitaries and nobles of high rank rested, were especially delightful to researchers. Decorations of the last shelters, beautiful mosaics, jewels, weapons, ritual devices, as well as luxurious silver and gold vessels gave archaeologists and anthropologists the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the development of the craft in Gonurdepe, as well as to make suggestions about the city’s economic and cultural contacts with Mesopotamia, Syria, Oman and northern regions. Evidence of this, as scientists believe, is in the similarity of materials and methods of processing precious metals, as well as the generality of forms and subjects.
“Margiana is much more than an archaeological exhibition,” says famous photographer Gerinda Köhlb, whose photographs made up part of the exhibition about ancient Turkmen culture.
For her, traveling to Turkmenistan was an opportunity to open a new world and present it to her compatriots, carrying through her photographs the spirit of the country from antiquity to modernity. So there were fascinating photographs of Turkmenistan and its inhabitants, impressive natural landscapes, as well as archaeological and historical monuments, of which hitherto little was known in Europe.
Other foreign museums have already shown interest in the Margiana - the kingdom of the Bronze Age in Turkmenistan exhibition. According to the organizers, this indicates a great interest of the public, both to the Great Silk Road being revived and to Turkmenistan.
