Dzarkutan Nekropole 4a

Darkutan Nekropole 4A presents a catalogue of the Late Bronze Age necropolis of Darkutan 4a in Southern Uzbekistan. Excavated in the 1970s, the graveyard contained 719 burials of the 20th-16th c. BC, of the so-called Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex (BMAC). Apart from the site of Gonur, this is the largest scientifically studied prehistoric necropolis of Central Asia. While some material has been discussed in earlier publications, the individual descriptions of the burials and a large part of the inventories are published here for the first time. For some 350 graves, ceramic drawings or photographs were pulled together from archives, museum collections and the excavators' personal records. About 40% of the material originally excavated - and some 60% of the complete vessels excavated - could be assembled. The catalogue is preceded by a short introduction into the culture, history, and research history of the Late Bronze Age of Central Asia, and followed by a discussion of the burial customs.