The State historical and cultural museum-reserve

«Yezhelgi Taraz eskertkishteri»

Home / News / Silver treasure

Silver treasure

This morning began with pleasant events-a resident of Taraz Iskanderov Raphael brought a random find-a treasure of silver coins discovered during earthworks near the settlement of Lower Baryskhan. The treasure is represented by a ceramic jug with a broken neck and handle, in which several survivors and a scattering of silver dirhams have been preserved. According to the well-known Kazakh numismatist Petrov P. N., the author of more than 160 articles and monographs on the money circulation of the Middle Ages, the dirhams are Samanid and date back to the middle of the 10th century. They could belong to a small merchant who hid them near his home. Perhaps this was caused by extraordinary circumstances and the merchant, wanting to save his possessions, poured them into a vessel and buried them in the ground near his house, so that they could be easier to find later. The total weight of the treasure is almost 500 grams of silver. Such treasures are another proof that medieval Taraz occupied one of the leading locations on the Great Silk Road ,was a "city of merchants" and played a major role in the caravan trade, and also for many centuries remained the most important center of non-ferrous metallurgy. The treasure is waiting for its further scientific study and will eventually take its place in the expositions of the hall of the reserve-museum. We thank Raphael Iskanderov, who donated the treasure, for his patriotism, for his love for the history of his region!