Topaz Gala depe

Topaz Gala depe - Archaeological site from the early Iron Age (Jaz II) in southern Turkmenistan, in the Serachs oasis, studied since 2009 by the Polish Archaeological Mission of the Institute of Archeology, Warsaw University under the supervision of Marcin Wagner. N N109 093439.

This small hill (depe) is located about 12 km north-east of the modern city of Serachs, on the road leading to Merv. It is surrounded by two branches of the Kiči Aga channel, which irrigates this part of the oasis.

On this post were exposed the remnants of an ancient fire temple, built of rectangular dried brick dating back to the 9th-8th centuries BC. The main temple room was set up on a rectangular plan with 3 pairs of transverse walls, between which pillars were set. In the middle of it was a clay round altar of fire surrounded by a small brick wall. East of it was a small pediment, probably used during celebratory ceremonies. In one of the corners was a large pot, which was filled with hot ashes from the altar. East of the main room, archaeologists discovered three smaller rooms. The whole was surrounded by a wall reinforced with semicircular bastions.

Probably this temple dates from the beginning of the formation of the Zoroastrian cult. A similar temple was unveiled by the Russian mission under the direction of prof. Viktor Sarianidi in the 1970s in northern Afghanistan as Tillya tepe.

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