At the Dalverzintepa site, located in the Surkhandarya region of southern Uzbekistan, a fortress, Buddhist temples, craft and residential buildings, fragments of wall paintings and sculptures, and many pottery items were found.
In 1972, an event that entered the history of Uzbek archaeology took place. A pitcher full of gold was found in the Dalverzintepa area. The jug contained 115 items - gold and jewelry. Most are well-preserved. The net weight of the gold found was 35 kg 713 grams.
What did the gold treasure consist of?
There were gold ingots, gift certificates, carefully disc-shaped ingots and jewelry in the form of thick cylindrical or almond-shaped rings, as well as finished jewelry - earrings, toqa, necklaces (jevak, coral, peshgardon), bracelets ringed with spiral folds on both sides.
The inscriptions on the castings were made in the punson style (grooves in the form of dots of different sizes) and were written in the Kharoshthhi script (a type of Indian script based on Aramaic) of Northern India, which was part of the Kushan Empire and was widespread at that time. One of them reads: "Gift of Mithra".
The jewelry was crafted with great skill and artistic mastery. Among the rare ones is a chain consisting of five ties, each of which is "woven" from eight wires. The golden "chains" are fastened on both ends with hollow cylinders decorated with precious stones - red ruby and turquoise.
Another item - zebigardan - consists of three inflated semicircles welded together, which are connected on the narrow sides by a hook fastener, and on the wide sides by the same rectangular clamp. In the center of the jewelry is a wide oval border, on which an intaliya (a precious stone with an engraving) is installed. The stone, in turn, is connected with the traditions of Hellenistic art, on which a small image of a bearded Hercules standing sideways is clearly visible.
Another piece of jewelry - a gold brace - was created in the tradition of "animal" and polychrome (or inlaid) style. As part of the treasure, various earrings in the shape of a moon, decorated with a thin spiral coil, were also found.
Academician Edward Rtveladze said the following about the incomparable importance of the treasure:
- According to archaeological data, the treasure dates back to the second half of the 1st century AD. This coincides with the emergence of the Kushan Empire, the largest state in ancient Central Asia, not inferior in power to other world powers, such as the Roman and Chinese Han empires. Active international relations and contacts, including trade, contributed to the exchange of tangible and artistic cultural artifacts. It is no coincidence that artifacts brought by the Greeks and Indians were found in the treasure. Bactrian art of that time was a unique mixture of various influences: in it, the Greco-Roman artistic traditions preserved in the territory of Uzbekistan from the campaigns of Alexander the Great to the early Middle Ages are clearly visible.
According to G.A. Pugachenkova, who gave a scientific assessment of the treasure in her time, these products were brought during the campaigns against India, during the reign of King Kujula Kadphises or Vima Kadphises, and belonged to a representative of the Kushan nobility.
"The treasure caused a great sensation in the scientific world - firstly, it provided unique items that allowed us to evaluate the jewelry art of the Kushan period, the artistic styles and tastes that existed at that time... The origin of gold ingots is still a controversial issue. In my opinion, they were part of the taxes paid to the treasury of the Kushan kings. According to another version, cast gold was a gift to the local temple; this practice was widespread at that time. "Thus, according to the find, the house with the treasure may belong to a local nobleman or be a palace building", Pugachenkova said.
In world archaeological practice, gold treasures are very rare and therefore very valuable. The territory of Bactria can boast of only two treasures - the famous Amu Darya Treasure (or Oxus Treasure) and the Dalverzin Treasure.
Currently, all items from the Dalverzin Treasury are stored in the State Fund of Precious Metals and Precious Stones of Uzbekistan.