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Researches in the Oasis of Adji Kui

In his concluding report on the 1975-76 campaign, with reference to Adji Kui, Masimov wrote:

"Eight monuments from the Bronze Age are concentrated around the oasis of Adji-Kui, 16 kilometres NNE from Adam-bassan. The largest is the depe of Adji-Kui 1, which runs lengthways in a NE-SW direction for about 330 metres, a diameter of more than 200 metres and a height of about 3.5 metres. In the northern part of the depe a single grave has been excavated. The bones were found in a poor state of conservation and the skeleton lay in a foetal position, with the head turned towards the N. In the grave were found nine pots, a stone spindle, a few faience beads, a bronze bracelet and a copper earring near the head of the deceased. In another colony of this group, Adji-Kui 4, were found the remains of a potter's kiln of two types, elliptical in shape, with the kiln chimney towards south-east. The complete length of the kiln was 3.2 metres, diameter of the oven 2.1 metres ..." (1979: 114).
First blows of the spade in AK9
First blows of the spade in AK9

 

In 1978, the archaeologist Victor L Sarianidi, who had been working at Togolog and Gonur­depe since 1974 as part of the MAE project of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, came to know about Masimov's new discoveries and decided to dedicate himself to an autumn mission of exploration in the sites of Kelleli-4 and Adji ­Kui 8, in order to understand the situation for himself: (SARIANIDI: 1990).

He writes: "Adji-Kui 8 was the central colony of the oasis of Adji-Kui. Archaeological reconnaissance concluded with the discovery of a complex which can, for the time being, be defined as a fortress or an acropolis, surrounded externally by walls. An almost complete identification of the perimeter revealed the existence of a series of rooms connected with each other. One of these contained wall niches (three in each wall) and in the middle of the western wall was a built-in fireplace with a chimney. This construction was probably the residence of a "provincial" governor of the area covered by the oasis of Adji-Kui".

Taking into account that the excavations carried out by the Russian archaeologist took place in a very limited area, it is difficult for us to agree with his reading of AK8 as a "central colony of the oasis " and "seat of a provincial governor ", since we do not know his reasons for this conclusion. For a further twenty years the oasis of Adji Kui was forgotten by researchers and remained exposed to highly damaging agricultural exploitation, which destroyed most of the sites. In 1997, Iminjan Masimov accompanied an Italian mission of IsMEO which had been entrusted with drawing up an archaeological map of the Murghab delta, where he remained for a few hours, time enough to dig two small stratigraphic trenches in AKI and AK9 (SALVATORI 2002, l07-177). Later information furnished by other authors is scarce and repetitive, limiting themselves to reporting the results by I.S. Masimov e V.I. Sarianidi (KOHL 1984: 143-145; HIEBERT 1994: I6-17) which have already been mentioned.

The Italian-Turkmen Mission

More than ten years of experience in the Necropolis of' Gonur and the long collaboration with Professor V.I. Sarianidi had convinced us that, in order to reconstruct a credible picture of Ancient Margiana, we had to recover, methodically and carefully, a range of essential information from an integral and up to then non-excavated site. It was impossible to do this at Gonur. At the suggestion of our institutional partner, the Ministry of Culture of Turkmenistan, we decided to concentrate our efforts on the Oasis of' Adji Kui, where we began work in the autumn of 2001.

In September 2002 we began a flrst reconnaissance on AK1, bringing to light the perimeter, apart from a section on the northern side which still has to be defined. The interior was also excavated to a large degree but we had to suspend work due to a series of difficulties that we encountered and which still have to be resolved. In any case, the area uncovered was sufficient to suggest the idea of a large caravanserai, and certainly not of a settlement of the Bronze Age which we were searching for. It therefore became obvious that we had to explore the other föur surviving depe in the oasis. Our choice fell on AK9, a citadel to the W of AK1, just one kilometre from it. It had already been possible to identify the site partially on the surface, where we began excavations in the autumn of 2003.

(ibid., p. 38-40)

Source: Rossi Osmida G.: Adji Kui Oasis. Vol.I: The Citadel of the Figurines.Venice: Il Punto Edizioni 2007.