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TAKHAR
ĀÏ
KHĀNOUM:
LOCATION:
Takhar Province. At the confluence
of the Kokcha and the Oxus
Rivers near Khwāja Ghar, c. 100km north-east of Qundūz.
DATES:
Seleucid, 4th-3rd C BC; Graeco-Bactrian, 3rd-2nd C BC. (C-14,
ceramic, epigraphic, stylistic).
DESCRIPTION: A
single period urban site in a naturally fortified position,
surrounded by defensive walls and , in places, a ditch. The
lower town consists of three distinctive parts: (A) a habitation
area to the south, (B) an administration area that includes
a palace in the middle, and (C) an almost empty area in the
north, with a main street connecting all three. The upper
town has a necropolis and an acropolis. Construction is of
mud-brick throughout, with columns and some thresholds in
stone. Finds include sculptures, terracottas, coins, jewellery,
Greek inscriptions, ivory throne fragments, a complete iron
suit or armour and two sundials. In the vicinity are remains
of many canals.
From
Ball, W. Archaeological Gazetteer of
Afghanistan, Paris, 1982, p. 30
CONDITION:
Heavily plundered by local commander
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