New discoveries in Armenian Highland--Oldest board games... Recent discoveries in historic Armenia reveal traces of earliest civilizations. Turkish archaeologists recently found a wealth of artifacts in Başur Höyük, Siirt in modern day Turkey (Aghdznik province of Greater Armenia). Small carved stones unearthed in a nearly 5,000-year-old burial could represent the earliest gaming tokens ever found. The elaborate pieces consist of 49 small stones sculpted in different shapes and painted in green, red, blue, black and white. Some depict pigs, dogs and pyramids, others feature round and bullet shapes. There were also found dice as well as three circular tokens made of white shell and topped with a black round stone. The find confirms that board games likely originated and spread from the Armenian Highlands more than 5,000 years ago. According to distribution, shape and numbers of the stone pieces, it appears that the game is based on the number 4. Archaeological records indicate that board games were widely played in Mesopotamia. Several beautifully crafted boards were found by British archaeologist Leonard Wooley in the Royal cemetery of Ur, the ancient Sumerian city near the modern Iraqi city of Nasiriya. Much more elaborate, the newly discovered gaming stones were recovered from one of nine graves found at Başur Höyük. The site was inhabited as early as from 7,000 B.C. and was on a trade route between East and West. The playing pieces were recovered from one of nine graves found at Başur Höyük, a 820- by 492-foot mound near Siirt in Armenian Highland today southeast Turkey. Inhabited as early as from 7,000 BC source: peopleofar.wordpress/2013/08/17/new-discoveries-on-armenian-highland/
Posted on: Sat, 17 Aug 2013 20:25:49 +0000