Shortugai
Coordinates: 37 ° 19 ′ 30 ″ N , 69 ° 31 ′ 30 ″ E
Shortugai is an archaeological archaeological site on the Amu Darya in the northern Afghan province of Takhar .
The name Shortugai comes from a nearby village. The excavated site dates back to 2000 BC. And is spread over two hills, each a little over two hectares in size. The whole complex corresponds to the typical pattern of the Indus culture , whose settlements mostly consist of an actual settlement and a citadel. Culturally, Shortugai belongs to the Indus culture, the actual core area of which was about 1000 kilometers south.
The mounds were marked A and B by the excavators. Six settlement layers could be distinguished in hill A, whereas in hill B four. Since only part of the mound has been excavated, it is not possible to completely reconstruct even a single house floor plan. Some monumental remains of construction came to light on hill A, the exact nature of which remains unclear. The finds include painted ceramics typical of the Indus culture, including black-painted ceramics on a red background. Clay models of wagons and cattle were found, which are also typical of sites of the Indus culture. Other finds included numerous pearls, bracelets, stone tools, but also numerous metal objects, including three mirrors.
In several layers there were adobe buildings with standardized bricks, the typical ceramics of this culture and a seal . The seal shows a cow with characters above it. It is believed that it was a trading post of the Indus culture. There are deposits of tin and lapis lazuli , which were a popular commodity in ancient times, in the vicinity , but only a few lapis lazuli objects were found on site. It is all about pearls. Younger strata show that the residents living here assimilated with the surrounding population and culture over time.
Shortugai was discovered in 1975. In 1976 two probes were carried out. Parts of the place were then excavated by a French expedition in three campaigns from 1977 to 1979.
literature
- Henri-Paul Francfort : Fouilles de Shortughai, Recherches sur l'Asie Centrale protohistorique , Paris 1989 ISBN 2-907431-02-1
- Viktor Sarianidi : The Art of Old Afghanistan , Leipzig 1986, pp. 110–111 ISBN 3-527-17561-X