Islamist Regime Busy Drowning Iran's Pre-Islamic History

From CAIS: Lake Sivand Takes Shape and Busy Drowning pre-Islamic Iranian History 29 November 2007 LONDON, (CAIS) -- Lake Sivand (also Bolaghi) is beginning to flood the Bolaghi Valley, but Naqsh-e Rostam allegedly [will] be safe from the proposed railway line that could have damaged the structures of the ancient site. In an interview with the Tehran Times in the Bolaghi Valley earlier this month, Parsa-Pasargadae Research Foundation archaeologist Afshin Yazdani, who is based at Persepolis, said that the government has given preliminary approval to a plan according to which the route of the Shiraz-Esfahan railway line will be located 1200 meters from Naqsh-e Rostam, although the final decision has not been made yet. The earlier plan was construct railway track only 400 meters away from Naqsh-e Rostam, but the experts protested, confirming vibrations caused by passing trains would almost certainly broaden existing cracks in the tomb of Xerxes I and result in its collapse, and would also cause the total destruction of Ka’aba of Zoroaster within less than ten years if the railway line were to be located so close. It is believed that the affluent landowners, who wanted to sell their lands which are situated near the site of Naqsh-e Rostam have bribed[1] the authorities at the Roads and Transportation Ministry to place the railway route only 400 meters away the historical site. Naqsh-e Rostam is situated about 12 kilometres northwest of Persepolis and is one of the most important historical sites in Iran-Proper, since it holds number of tombs, belonging to the Achaemenid King of Kings, such as Darius the Great, his son Xerxes I, Artaxerxes I, and Darius II, all have been carved into the solid rock of the mountain. The site also contains bas-reliefs dating back to the Elamites as well as the Sasanian dynastic eras. Yazdani said that Naqsh-e Rostam was an important ceremonial site for the Elamites, nearly 1000 years before the rise of the Achaemenid dynasty to power. Yazdani also took me on a tour of some of the ancient sites of the Bolaghi Valley that will be flooded by the filling of the reservoir of the Sivand Dam, a process which is currently underway – quite unfortunately. The Bolaghi Valley, which has over 130 important archaeological sites, is located in Fars Province and stretches for about 15 kilometres from the Bolaghi Pass (Tang-e Bolaghi) to the Sivand Dam and then for several more kilometres after the dam. The Bolaghi Pass is about 4 kilometres from the village of Pasargad, which is beside the ruins of Pasargadae, the first capital of the Persian Empire. The area was previously called Tang-e Bolaghi, but since most of the ancient sites are in the valley that opens up after the mountain pass, experts changed its appellation to the Bolaghi Valley or Darreh Bolaghi in Persian. The Archaeological Rescue Excavations of the Bolaghi Valley Project was implemented from 2004 to 2007 to study the area’s archaeological sites. The filling of the reservoir of the Sivand Dam, which will flood a large section of the valley, began in spring 2007. In an interview at the Persepolis Complex last spring, Parsa-Pasargadae Research Foundation Director Mohammad Hassan Talebian told the Tehran Times that only 24 of the archaeological sites of the Bolaghi Valley would be submerged by the reservoir of the Sivand Dam. During our tour of the Bolaghi Valley, Yazdani showed me a wall and stone foundation of a monumental building of the Achaemenid dynastic era discovered by the Polish-Iranian archaeological team. At one Sasanian dynastic era site, we saw a large jug that was partly excavated, and nearby we saw a Sasanian basin. In addition, archaeologists found jars, potshards, and a house with a courtyard and hearth at the site. A jar with an Aramaic inscription of a quantity, which was produced for the royal system of agriculture, was also discovered at the site, Yazdani said. Near the Sivand Dam, we saw that Lake Sivand was taking shape and had already flooded some areas of the Bolaghi Valley. ********************************************************************************** [1] Since 1979 Islamic Iran ranks 88 out of 158 countries on the "Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index" (CPI) with a CPI score of 2.9 (a scale of 0 – 10 with 0 being the most corrupt). In real terms Islamic regime made bribery another form of income supplement to disintegrate traditional values and moralities among Iranian people, in order to pave the way for destruction of Iran. Corruption at every level have become an accepted part of every day life - from gifting the postman to make sure one’s mail is delivered to major corruption on the international level in the oil and its related industries. Also the cliques of clerics and their families in power accumulate unheard of wealth through corruption, bribery and embezzlement and live in opulence and luxury at the expense of the Iranian nation.