On 26 November 2025, more than 300 valuable archaeological artefacts were officially transferred to two major Turkmen museums on Wednesday in solemn ceremonies held at the State Museum of the State Cultural Centre of Turkmenistan in Ashgabat and the History and Local Lore Museum of Arkadag City, the Turkmen state news agency TDH reports.
The handover is part of the implementation of the State Programme for 2022–2028 on the careful preservation, protection, study and promotion of Turkmenistan’s national historical and cultural heritage sites to tourists.
Throughout the spring and autumn seasons of 2025, specialists from the National Directorate for the Protection, Study and Restoration of Historical and Cultural Monuments, staff of state historical-cultural reserves, and researchers from the Institute of History and Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences of Turkmenistan carried out large-scale excavations, scientific research and conservation-restoration work at numerous heritage sites across the country.
Key locations included Parzyz-depe (Gökdepe district, Ahal province), the Mäne Baba mausoleum, the medieval Friday Mosque of Ancient Abiverd fortress, the Friday Mosque of the medieval Dehistan settlement, the Kerwensaraý caravanserai (Dashoguz province), Ancient Amul fortress, the Dayakhatyn caravanserai on the Amul–Khorezm branch of the Great Silk Road, and Akjagala caravanserai (Mary province).
Among the artefacts presented to the museums are a horse figurine, various ceramic vessels, metal stirrups, arrowheads, labour tools and other objects discovered in recent years at world-famous sites such as Old Nisa, Altyn-depe, Namazga-depe, Yylgynly-depe, Gara-depe, Parzyz-depe and other ancient settlements in Ahal province.
One standout item is a fully restored Eneolithic (Chalcolithic) ceramic vessel unearthed at Parzyz-depe – vivid evidence of the flourishing of the renowned Anau culture on this very territory. The first excavations at the Anau hills in 1904 revealed crucial information about the highly developed agricultural civilization of the Copper Age.
The collection also includes antiquities from the classical period, notably a silver drachma bearing the portrait of Alexander the Great. Found near the historic Pulhatyn bridge in Serakhs district, experts say the coin may shed new light on certain aspects of the legendary conqueror’s campaign.
Built by Seljuk-era masters from Serakhs, the Pulhatyn bridge once played a vital trade, economic and military-strategic role and remains one of the finest examples of Turkmen urban-planning and engineering skill.
Speakers at the ceremonies emphasized that discoveries made in Turkmenistan are of global significance for understanding the development of human civilization. They enable the international community to gain an objective view of the historical journey of the Turkmen people, their unique national and cultural identity and their invaluable contribution to world science and culture.
Work is currently underway to restore and scientifically study dozens of additional historical sites across all provinces. Several joint international archaeological expeditions are successfully operating in the country.
Special attention is being paid to the museum presentation of architectural masterpieces, the introduction of cutting-edge digital inventory systems for artefacts, and the widespread use of 21st-century high-tech methods for authenticity testing and dating – practices already standard in leading global museums and archaeological institutions./// nCa, 27 November 2025