Lands of Asia layouts (Eng) 26.11.21

part ii | states
Outstanding amongst this meagre range of artefacts of the Achaemenid period
from Central Asia’s settled agricultural areas are the numerous objects of artistic
culture (small artistic objects – round metal plates, toreutics and jewellery) from the
Amu Darya hoard or Oxus treasure and from the Oxus temple treasure in Takht-i
Sangin. However, if we follow a strictly academic approach, with few exceptions these
objects cannot be regarded as reliable historical sources for describing Achaemenid
art in Central Asia. They can only give us an idea of the kinds of treasures, and of the
countries from which they came, before they accumulated in Bactrian temples over
a period of several centuries. If we go by the dates when these hoards were hidden,
which was much later than even the end of the Achaemenid period, and is connected
to the time of Alexander’s conquest of Bactria in 329 BC, we can date the artefacts to a
period covering two hundred years. The Amu Darya hoard was most likely concealed
in the 4th century BC, and the Oxus temple hoard on the eve of the Yuezhi invasion,
i.e. at the beginning of the second half of the 2nd century BC. The objects may have
been brought to the temple (or temples?) as votive offerings at any time and could
have come from anywhere.
There is no question about the historical authenticity of the objects from the temple
of the Oxus in Takht-i Sangin, as the find was documented following
proper archaeological methods. However, doubts about the authenticity
of the Amu Darya hoard (the Oxus treasure) remain. Strictly speaking, it
is a collection of items obtained in various circumstances in Rawalpindi
(Pakistan). Some of them do indeed belong to the Amu Darya hoard,
and were possibly found at the Takht-i Qobad site. Other objects,
however, most likely have been collected together at Rawalpindi
but consist of possible finds from Gandhara or Kabulistan.
There is also some doubt about the provenance of coins that
make up part of the treasure, as these were ‘added’ (i.e. described
as belonging to the hoard) by the academic E.V. Zeymal from various
museum collections (whose find-spot is unclear) All the more so
because, to date, no coins from the Greek cities and Achaemenid
satraps of Asia Minor dating from the 5th–4th centuries BC have been
found in the territory of Central Asia, including Bactria. Only recently,
apparently, a hoard of Achaemenid sigloi was found in southern
Turkmenistan, and some of these have ended up in private
collections in Tashkent.
Naked youth.
Silver. 5th–4th
century BC.
Examination of the early part of the Amu Darya hoard has
made it possible to identify five groups of gold and silver objects
according to their place of origin:
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