Old Nisa

Turkmenistan · Ashgabat, around Bagyr

FortressIntermittent excavationUNESCO · 2007
Approximate period200 BCE — 100 CEParthian period See on the map ↓

In brief

Old Nisa is one of the two Nisa mounds forming the UNESCO site and an important center for the study of Parthian royal architecture. Excavations revealed monumental buildings combining local traditions with Hellenistic influences.

What was found?

  • 1Round Hall

    A circular hall within square outer walls was uncovered. According to researchers, its monumental layout and finds suggest that the building had a sacred function.

  • 2Fragments of painted clay statues

    Fragments of clothing, hair, heads, and limbs were found in the Round Hall. They illuminate sculpture and Hellenistic influences at the Parthian royal center.

  • 3Ivory rhytons

    Decorated rhytons used for pouring liquids were found in the Square House. Their forms and decoration show the meeting of Iranian and Hellenistic artistic traditions.

  • 4Inscribed pottery sherds

    These fragments, called ostraca, recorded incoming and outgoing goods such as wine, flour, and oil. They directly document the management of the storerooms.

  • 5Storage jars and seal impressions

    The remains of large jars and sealed clay fragments used in sealing procedures were found in the southwestern building complex. They show how goods were stored and controlled.

What does it point to?

Eski Nisa was a center where royal ceremonies, art, and the management of goods came together. The finds suggest that Parthian culture developed by drawing on Iranian, steppe, and Hellenistic traditions.

What did it teach us?

  1. Storage records and seals provided tangible evidence of the control of goods at the royal center.
  2. Statues and rhytons showed the combination of Hellenistic traditions with local art in Central Asia.
  3. It revealed that monumental halls and service buildings existed within the same fortified center.

Images

Overview of the Central Complex of Old Nisa, Nisa, Turkmenistan
Carole Raddato from FRANKFURT, Germany · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Architectural pieces from old Nisa, 2nd cent. BCE; National Museum of History, Ashgabat, T
Richard Mortel · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Record

Culture
Arsacids
First modern dig
1930
Team / historical
Turkmen-Italian archaeological mission of the University of Turin and the Centre for Archaeological Research and Excavations of Turin (CRAST)
Coordinates
37.9513°, 58.2110°

Sources

  1. whc.unesco.org
  2. whc.unesco.org
  3. whc.unesco.org
  4. iris.unito.it
  5. Torino Arkeolojik Araştırmalar ve Kazılar Merkezi — CRAST
  6. Encyclopaedia Iranica

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