Archaeologists in Turkmenistan say they have unearthed the first statue from the site of the ancient city of Margush, a centre of civilisation 4,000 years ago. The figure of a woman could be a deity, but the archaeologists say it may also hold the first clues to how people in Margush looked and dressed. Our correspondent in Turkmenistan, Monica Whitlock, reports on the revealing find:

The figure is of a seated woman made of black stone about 15 centimetres high. She is wearing a long, low-cut robe and may have had hair ornaments.

They seem like small clues but archaeologists are excited: nothing like this has come to light before in Margush though similar finds were made in North Afghanistan. Margush was first mentioned in the sacred scripture of Zoroastrianism, the ancient Persian religion sometimes called fire worship.

It was once the centre of civilisation, now the ruins of Margush lie buried in the sands of the Turkmen desert. This whole sweep of southern central Asia has a glittering past.

Nearby lies Merv, jewel of the East, the royal capital captured many times from Alexander the Great onwards. Archives describe fabulous turquoise palaces smashed to pieces by waves of marauders.

To the North you can still see skeletons scattered in the desert from the time of the Mongul conqueror Genghis Khan. The air here is so dry remains stay intact for centuries.