A treasure trove of the most valuable ancient Persian artifacts of the 2nd or 3rd century BC was discovered near the Oxus River
The impressive Oxus Treasure was discovered at the end of the 19th century. However, the time delay between excavations and the moment when the metal artifacts were cataloged and exhibited created problems for maintaining the precious pieces as one complete collection. Many of the priceless artifacts have been lost forever. Some Oxus artifacts seem to be located in different museum collections, but due to the lack of documentation it is impossible to conclude their origins. Gold statuettes of bearded men (British Museum/ CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 ) and cast and chased silver statuette of another bearded man. (British Museum/ CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 ) All from the Oxus Treasure. The Oxus Treasure by John Curtis (published by the British Museum) details one occasion on which the treasure was divided. Curtis writes: Several pieces of jewelry from the Oxus Treasure. (British Museum/ CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 ) Beautifully Decorated Metalwork . ...