Gonur-Depe

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The first agricultural settlements appeared in the delta of the Murghab River as far back as the 7th millennium BC. Fertile silt coming from mountains, abundance of water and moderate climate had created favourable conditions for crops.
Among the sands of the eastern Karakum, archaeologists excavated monumental castles and temples, competing in size with the buildings of Assyria and Babylon.
In 1972 excavation work on the Gonur necropolis was begun as a part of the research programme in the fossil delta of the Murghab River. The tombs contained various utensils from the 3rd millennium BC: mirrors, large pins, cosmetic bottles, silver ornamental objects, alabaster and ceramic vases. Many of these objects demonstrate how widely the ancient people traded with other Central Asian regions. The discovery of such a large Bronze-Age cemetery opens a new chapter in the history of Turkmenistan culture.
The ancient Margush, Margiana, Mouru and medieval Merv are essentially one and the same country through different eras. Scientists assume that the first world-wide religion, Zoroastrianism, is connected with the country of Margush. Archaeologists discovered four monumental fire temples there. Perhaps suffering indignity as the prophet of a new religion, Zoroaster strolled along the dusty roads of Margush. Perhaps here he began his religious mission, and there the ideas included in the holy Avesta were born and first became well known.
The golden age of Margush lasted from the 16th to the 13th century BC. The city of Gonur was the capital of this great agricultural civilisation. In the centre of the city a fortified palace enclosed by a great wall was located. Not far from the palace was a fortified temple, which walls and floors were covered with white gypsum. There were several special rooms in the temple where big jars, more than one metre in height, stood along the walls on the elevated platform. A special cult beverage , made of either from poppy seeds or mandrake roots, was kept in them. Cult beverages were widely used in Zoroastrianism. A recipe for such a drink was given in the Avesta.
Nearly 300 large and small settlements and 30 temples have already been found in the country of Margush.