Berdysyčran-depe

Berdysyčran-depe (turk. Berdysyçran-depe, рус. Бердысычран-депе) is an ancient Bronze Age settlement located in the former delta of Tejen River, 60 km south of Tejen (city), Turkmenistan.

Archaeological research

Berdysyčran-depe was surveyed in 2015 by a Turkmen-Polish archaeological expedition of the University of Warsaw, headed by Barbara Kaim ^[1][2][3][4]

General characteristics

The total area of Berdysyčran-depe is about 15 hectares. The site consists of two parts. The first, the southern mound, is steeper, with an area of about 1 hectare and a height of 6 metres. The second mound, is a more flattened with a height of 7 metres and covering an area of 2.1 hectares. The area between these hills is densely covered with pottery.^[1] The analysis of all collected material allowed to date the site to the Middle, Late and Final Bronze Age (2250-1500 BC), i.e. the time corresponding to the rise, flouring and fall of the Oxus Civilization - Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex.

Findings

Among the materials collected by archaeologists are fragments of pottery, a typical female terracotta figurine from the Namazga V period. ,^[5] fragments of alabaster vessels and badly damaged bronze objects ^[1][2]

Berdysyčran-depe and the settlement of Geoksyur oasis

Berdysyčran-depe was settled during the Namazga V period, which is, after Geoksyur Oasis was abandoned. The site is located 15 km south of Hapuz-depe,^[6] which dates back to the Early and Middle Bronze Age.

See also

• History of Central Asia
• Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex
• South Turkmenistan Complex Archaeological Expedition

Notes

1. Buławka, Kaim & Rzeplińska 2021.
2. "Археологи Нашли в Южном Туркменистане Поселение Цивилизации Окса". Retrieved 11 November 2021.
3. "Berdysyčran-depe – a new site of the Oxus civilisation in the Tedjen alluvial fan". archeowiesci.pl. 24 January 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
4. Buławka, N., Orengo, H. A. (2024). "Application of multi-temporal and multisource satellite imagery in the study of irrigated landscapes in arid climates". Remote Sensing. 16 (11): 1997. doi:10.3390/rs16111997.
5. Masson & Sarianidi 1973.
6. Sarianidi 1964.

References

• Buławka, Nazarij; Kaim, Barbara; Rzeplińska, Maja (2021), "Berdysyčran-depe: A bronze age site in the lower Tedjen river valley, Turkmenistan", Archaeological Research in Asia, 28: 100326, doi:10.1016/j.ara.2021.100326, S2CID 243486566
• Masson, Vadim Mikhaylovich; Sarianidi, Viktor Ivanovich (1973), Sredneaziatskaya Terrakota Epokhi Bronzy : Opyt Klassifikatsii i Interpretatsii, Moskva: Izdatel'stvo «Nauka»
• Sarianidi, Viktor Ivanovich (1964), "Khapuz-Depe Kak Pamyatnik Epokhi Bronzy", Kratkiye Soobshcheniya Instituta Arkheologii, 98: 60–65

36°58′41″N 60°59′13″E