Kara-Depe
Kara Depé · Black Hill · Qara Tepe
Late Chalcolithic Namazga II–IV 3500–2000 BCE·Kopet Chalcolithic (Kara-Depe facies)·🇹🇲 Ahal Province, near Artyk / Kaahka oasis chain (Kopet piedmont west of Namazga, Geok-Tepe corridor), Turkmenistan
About
About Kara-Depe
Namazga II–IV Chalcolithic mound (c.3500–2000 BCE) on the Kopet chain between Geok-Tepe and Kaahka — Kara-Depe excavated 1950s–60s by Masson and Berezkin, 3 ha tell with tripartite painted ware sequence (Kara-Depe ware) stylistically between Anau and Namazga, linking western Kopet (Anau) to eastern Namazga. The mound shows mudbrick houses with hearths, copper and early namazga polychrome, flying-deer motifs and cross-hatched painted ware; crucial for linking Kopet to the Tehran Plain (Sialk) and to the Iranian plateau, showing cross-Caspian Chalcolithic networks.
Why it mattersNamazga II–IV bridge between Anau and Namazga — key for cross-Kopet chronology and Iran (Sialk) links.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Why Kara-Depe cross-hatch diverges from Namazga polychrome?
Theories
- 01Western Kopet as Iranian plateau interface (Berezkin)
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.3500 BCE Namazga II–III
- Period
- Late Chalcolithic Namazga II–IV 3500–2000 BCE
- Culture
- Kopet Chalcolithic (Kara-Depe facies)
- Builders
- Kopet Chalcolithic villagers
- Purpose
- Chalcolithic village linking Anau to Namazga ceramic tradition
- Abandoned
- c.2000 BCE
- Rediscovered
- 1955–60 STCAE Masson
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.3500–2700 BCE
Namazga II–III village with Kara-Depe painted black-on-red ware
c.2700–2000 BCE
Namazga IV mudbrick houses with copper and cross-hatch
1955
Masson excavates defining Kara-Depe ware as Namazga western facies
On the ground
Structures & features
37.4000° N · 60.8000° E · 240 m · 2 mapped features
Central Painted Ware Horizon
settlementKara-Depe painted ware levels with copper at mound center
37.4003° N · 60.8005° EMudbrick House Terrace
settlementNamazga IV mudbrick houses on eastern terrace
37.3997° N · 60.7995° E
Gallery