Where Is Oxus Treasure? See It at British Museum

Q: What is in the Oxus Treasure?

The treasure includes gold and silver vessels, jewelry, coins, and figurines. Most famous is a gold model chariot with four horses and two figures. Many pieces show Persian royal and religious imagery.

Q: Where did the Oxus Treasure come from?

The treasure was found near the Oxus River (Amu Darya) in what is now Tajikistan, near the border with Afghanistan. It likely came from a temple that collected offerings over centuries.

Q: When was the Oxus Treasure found?

Locals found the treasure in 1877. Merchants bought it but were attacked by bandits. British officer Captain F.C. Burton rescued both the merchants and the treasure, which eventually reached the British Museum.

The Oxus Treasure contains around 180 surviving pieces of Achaemenid Persian gold and silver, dating from the 5th-4th centuries BCE. Named after the Oxus River (modern Amu Darya) in Central Asia where it was found, this is the most important collection of ancient Persian metalwork to survive.

Highlights include a gold chariot model pulled by four horses, gold armlets with griffin terminals, and numerous votive plaques. The treasure was likely from a temple, accumulated over centuries as offerings. It was discovered in the 1870s and nearly lost when bandits attacked the merchants who bought it. A British officer intervened and the treasure eventually reached the British Museum in 1897.

The treasure includes gold and silver vessels, jewelry, coins, and figurines. Most famous is a gold model chariot with four horses and two figures. Many pieces show Persian royal and religious imagery.

The treasure was found near the Oxus River (Amu Darya) in what is now Tajikistan, near the border with Afghanistan. It likely came from a temple that collected offerings over centuries.

Locals found the treasure in 1877. Merchants bought it but were attacked by bandits. British officer Captain F.C. Burton rescued both the merchants and the treasure, which eventually reached the British Museum.

Oxus Treasure

Details

Where to See It

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