On assignment from the editorial board, I was to interview Fredrik Hiebert, a Doctor of Archaeology from the University of Pennsylvania (USA), well-known in scientific circles and a continuer of the research into the ancient agricultural Anau culture. According to the rules of journalism and following my experience, I furrowed the vastness of the Internet in advance to learn more about my interlocutor. And here is what I managed to find: the archaeologist had worked with Viktor Sarianidi and Turkmen archaeologists. During excavations in Anau, he found a miniature stone seal measuring 1.5 x 1.5 cm containing carved symbols that were unlike any writing system known to science, and in the upper layers of the Southern Hill of Anau he discovered a stone wall dating back to the Bronze Age (second millennium BC), although it was believed that all structures in the settlements of the first farmers who had lived thousands of years ago in the fertile valley between the Kopetdag Mountains and the Karakum Desert were built exclusively from clay (mud bricks and pakhsa). Together with Turkmen archaeologist K. Kurbansahatov, he wrote the book A Central Asian Village at the Dawn of Civilization: Excavations at Anau, Turkmenistan, published in Philadelphia (USA) in 2003. And most importantly, according to F. Hiebert, he is looking for an ancient civilisation, not yet known to the world, and is deeply convinced that it is hidden under the hills of Anau.

Our meeting began with an exchange of business cards. The scientist’s business card immediately attracted attention. On its back, there was a photo of a fragment of a bowl in which ak bugday grains had been found. He also brought to our meeting photos from the excavations, among which were photos of R. Pumpelly’s expedition. And this already says a lot about this scientist. He is a fan of his work.