Murghab basin

city of Mary Province in Turkmenistan

Merv ( ; ), also known as the Merve Oasis, was a major Iranian city in Central Asia, located on the historical Silk Road, near today's Mary, Turkmenistan. Human settlements on the site of Merv existed from the 3rd millennium BC until the 18th century AD. It changed hands repeatedly throughout history. Under the Achaemenid Empire, it was the center of the satrapy of Margiana. It was subsequently ruled by Hellenistic Kings, Parthians, Sasanians, Arabs, Ghaznavids, Seljuqs, Khwarazmians and Timurids, among others.

river in Central Asia

archaeological site in Turkmenistan

district in Badghis Province, Afghanistan

river in Turkmenistan

Togolok is an archaeological site in the Murghab Delta, Turkmenistan, located about 10–15 km south of Gonur (or about 40 km north of Mary, Turkmenistan). Togolok 21 is theorized to be an Indo-Iranian temple and fortress dated to the first half of the 2nd millennium BC, belonging to the late phase of the Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex (BMAC). Togolok 1 area has also been excavated. Since 2014, the Togolok 1 site has been excavated by the TAP - Togolok Archaeological Project, directed by Barbara Cerasetti (FU Berlin, ISMEO), in collaboration with the University of Bern.