Around 5,500 years ago, a large settlement of farmers, artisans and miners who traded around Asia along the proto-Silk Road sprang up in what is now Tajikistan. For some reason we may never know, the oldest and most advanced city in that part of the world collapsed about 1,600 years later, leaving remnants of a sophisticated community that was first unearthed in the 1970s. The ruins of that community we now call Sarazm. It came to light in 1970 when a resident of a nearby village found a small bronze ax-adze while digging. He waited six years to inform an archaeologist in nearby Panjakent, after which excavations began. Precious Ancient Fabrics from the ‘Israeli Silk Road’ Found in a Trash Heap Ajina-Tepa, Tajikistan – Abandoned Buddhist Cloister on the Famous Silk Road Sarazm Culture: Not Far Behind Sumer and Harappa When Sarazm was established, the first civilized states of Harappa in India and Sumer in Mesopotamia were already thriving. But Sarazm was not far behind. It was a pivotal city between hunting and gathering, and civilization. Read moreSection: NewsHistory & ArchaeologyAncient PlacesAsiaRead Later