Today's site of the day is the Merv Oasis, one of the important stops on the Silk Road leading from Chang'An, China to the Roman and Persian Empires. The site was a large important city at times, including a Parthian empire occupation with its own mint. For more information, see the page on the Merv Oasis, or one of the other links listed below.
There's a new book out about Merv by Gabriele Puschnigg, published last year by the Left Coast Press that's worth investigating if you're intrigued. The book, called Ceramics of the Merv Oasis, a little on the technical site--it is primarily a discussion of the ceramics discovered at the site and what they were made of and the shapes and styles available and what all that means--but it also includes a chapter on the history, chronology and archaeological investigations at Merv.
There's a new book out about Merv by Gabriele Puschnigg, published last year by the Left Coast Press that's worth investigating if you're intrigued. The book, called Ceramics of the Merv Oasis, a little on the technical site--it is primarily a discussion of the ceramics discovered at the site and what they were made of and the shapes and styles available and what all that means--but it also includes a chapter on the history, chronology and archaeological investigations at Merv.
- Merv Oasis (Turkmenistan)
- Silk Road
- Persian Empire timeline and definition
- Chang 'An (China)
- Parthian Empire
- Gabriele Puschnigg. 2006. Ceramics of the Merv Oasis: Recycling the city. Left Coast Press, Walnut Creek, California.
Comments
It is sad that such amazing sites are so often located in such oppressive and closed countries. If you take the time to go see one of these places, you should also take the time to go see the horrific prisons located in the wastelands of the Karakum.