Togolok
38°07′N 62°00′E / 38.12°N 62.00°E
   | |
| Location | Murghab Delta, Turkmenistan |
|---|---|
| Type | Archaeological site |
| History | |
| Founded | First half of the 2nd millennium BC |
| Periods | Late phase of the Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex (BMAC) |
| Cultures | Indo-Iranian |
| Site notes | |
| Condition | Ruins |
Togolok is an archaeological site in the Murghab Delta, Turkmenistan, located about 10–15 km south of Gonur (or about 40 km north of Mary, Turkmenistan). Togolok 21 is an Indo-Iranian[1] temple and fortress dated to the first half of the 2nd millennium BC, belonging to the late phase of the Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex (BMAC). Togolok 1 area has also been excavated.
According to the Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture (page 495), the Togolok temple contained rooms where traces of ephedra and hemp were found along with implements for the preparation of a hallucinogenic beverage (later known as soma in India and as haoma in Iran).
Togolok Depe
[edit]The name 'Togolok' is also applied to another much older site in Turkmenistan known as 'Togolok Depe'. This settlement started in the Neolithic during the Jeitun period around 7000 BC.[2] It is located in the Kopet-Dag foothills near the ancient Jeitun settlement. The site has been excavated and published in 1964 in Russian.
References
[edit]- ^ SARIANIDI, V. I. 1990. "Togolok 21, an Indo-Iranian Temple in the Karakum". Bulletin of the Asia Institute. 4: 159-165.
- ^ David R. Harris, Origins of Agriculture in Western Central Asia: An Environmental-Archaeological Study. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011. ISBN 1934536512 p61
- Viktor Sarianidi, Le complexe cultuel de Togolok 21 en Margiane", Arts Asiatiques 41 (1986), 5–21.
- Viktor Sarianidi, "Togolok 21, an Indo-Iranian Temple in the Karakum", Bulletin of the Asia Institute 4 (1990), 159–165.
- Victor Sarianidi, Margiana and Soma-Haoma, Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies (EJVS) 9.1c (5 May 2003).
- Fredrik Talmage Hiebert, Origins of the Bronze Age Oasis Civilization in Central Asia, American School of Prehistoric Research Bulletins 42 (2004).
- M. Cattani et al., The Murghab Delta in Central Asia 1990-2001: GIS from a Research Resource to a Reasoning Tool for the Study of Settlement Change in Long-Term Fluctuations in: M. Doerr (ed.), The Digital Heritage of Archaeology (2002).