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1/ Today #Archaeology_Online goes deep into Northern Afghanistan in search of gold, lots of gold, in the area now called the Bactria Margiana!
This is the archaeological term for the Bronze Age civilization in Central Asia between 2400–1900 BC and later. A #thread. >>
@nickfshort
This is the archaeological term for the Bronze Age civilization in Central Asia between 2400–1900 BC and later. A #thread. >>
@nickfshort
2/ >> Bactria Margiana has a long history which includes a number of ancient cultures. Bactria is located between the Eurasian steppes and India, & between the 6th century BC to the 5th century AD was a trade center of gold and had an enormous economic impact on the region. >>
3/ >> The most famous site in Bactria is Tillya Tepe, which aptly means "Golden Hill". It is located in modern Northern Afghanistan & was excavated in 1978, a year before the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, an excavation which found the "Bactrian treasure". >>
* Tillya Tepe.
* Tillya Tepe.
4/ >> This treasure is astounding, containing over 20,500 items made of gold, silver and ivory. The items were found in six tombs, five female tombs and one male, dating from the 1st c. BC to the 1st c. AD. >>
* A hands of one of the skeletons, adorned with gold jewelry.
* A hands of one of the skeletons, adorned with gold jewelry.
5/ >> The treasure includes necklaces with precious stones, medallions, belts and even a crown, most of them pure gold. As is usual with these stories and treasures, after it was found it suddenly, strangely, disappeared, unseen until 2003, 25 years later. >>
6/ >> In the 1990's most people believed the treasure was lost, mainly because the National Museum of Afghanistan had been looted several times. But in 2003 it was discovered in a safe under the central bank in Kabul, the question is how did it get there? >>
7/ >> Apprently in 1989 the president of Afghanistan decided to move the treasure from the museum to the safe to protect it from being looted. To further protect the treasure he gave the different keys to the safe to five different people. >>
8/ >> In 2003, after the eradication of the Taliban, the new administration wanted to open the safe, but they couldn't because the names of the key-holders were hidden intentionally. They then planed to break into the safe, but eventually the key-holders were found. >>
9/ >> With the help of National Geographic the treasure was cataloged & all items accounted for. This is a crazy story about a once in a lifetime gold treasure. It sounds like a Hollywood movie, but this is a very true story. >>
10/ >> Today the treasure tours the world in a traveling exhibition between major cities, presenting it to the general public.
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