One wise man once said, “The sand of oblivion covers the traces of those who passed through our land”. But that is not true. The spirit of learning and the ineradicable desire to open new pages of history always lives in people. Among those who discovered the earliest centres of grain farming on the planet for the world, in search of disappeared civilisations in the sand dunes of Turkmenistan, was an American Raphael Pumpelly.

Turkmenistan is a country with a continuous millennia-old history and is rich in historical monuments dating back to different periods. The borders of the habitats of ancient farmers or proto-urban centres can still be seen on some mounds that are scattered throughout the country. The ruins of ancient fortresses have also been preserved.