KARAKUM'S SECRET

A team of archaeologists are aiming to bring back to life a 5000 year old city gobbled-up by sands in the desert of Karakoum. A journey which takes us back in the early days of human civilizations.

More than six thousand years ago, in the heart of the desert of Karakoum, in Turkmenistan, there was a city gobbled-up by sands. Today, a team of Italian, French and Turkmen archaeologists are aiming to bring it back to life. The searches led for ten years by the archaeologist Gabriele Rossi Osmilda, allowed to reveal the existence of a civilisation whch flourished in the fourth century BC. Hidden by the desert's sands, this extremely well preserved city and virgin of any pillaging will allow them to accumulate numerous indications and maybe to reveal its name. The resurrection of this city also represents an incredible stake, for the scientific community and Unesco, to a better understanding of the antique world and the relationship between the civilisation of Oases and the other big contemporary civilisations.

Awards:

• Special Jury Award by the Jury, Archaeology International Film Festival 2006 (USA)
• Honorable Audience Mention, Archaeology Film Festival 2006 (USA)
• Honorable Mention in Best Film Category - Archaeology International Film Festival 2006, Oregon (USA)
• 1ère Mention MIF SCIENCE, Festival Image&Santé, Albert, 2006 (France)