5,000 Site Discovered in Iran

5000-year-old site discovered in southeastern Iran
Tehran Times Culture Desk
June 8, 2008

TEHRAN -- A broad site dating back to the third millennium BC was discovered during the latest excavations in Bampur region in Sistan-Baluchestan Province, southeastern Iran.

“In the Bampur valley, there is an ancient site covered with sand mounds, which is as large as the Burnt City and may belong to a civilization as great as the civilization of that the city,” Mehdi Mortazavi, an archaeologist of the University of Sistan-Baluchestan, told the Persian service of CHN on Saturday. According to Mortazavi, the site measures 1x1.5 kilometer. “I feel sure that there are a large number of sites like this here. Such sites may even exist in nearby regions like Saravan,” he stated.

Mortazavi refused to give more details about the location of the site for security reasons. “It’s better for the site to remain covered for the time being, because it will be plundered by illegal excavations if the precise location of the site is revealed,” he argued. [Psssst...it probably already has been discovered by the looters...]

Twenty sites -- mostly prehistoric -- have been discovered by the archaeologists of the University of Sistan-Baluchestan over the past few years. Covering an area of 152 hectares, the Burnt City, located 57 kilometers from the city of Zabol in Sistan-Baluchestan Province, is the largest prehistoric site of the province. It was one of the world’s largest conurbations at the dawn of the urban era and was well developed during the third millennium BC. It thus constitutes one of the country’s most important prehistoric sites. The city, which was burnt down three times, shows evidence of four stages of civilization. Since it was not rebuilt after the last conflagration, it has been named the Burnt City.
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The Burnt City (Shar-i Sokhta, various spellings) was where the wooden serpent game board was excavated in 1983 (image above). The serpent game board dates to about 2400 BCE, making it about 200 years younger (more or less) than the famous 20-squares boards excavated by Woolley at Ur.

On the Iranian side of the border, the area is called Sistan va Baluchestan; on the Pakistani side of the border the area is called Baluchistan. In older times, the larger area (encompassing lands in the border regions of Iran, Pakistan and India, all the way south to the Indian Ocean) was called Baluchistan. Several chess historians have pointed to Baluchistan as being the birth place of chess.

700 Historic and Prehistoric Sites Identified in Sistan Plain

News from CAIS. I've subscribed to this service for the past couple of years. It's become apparent over that time that the Iranian Plateau is a hot spot for ancient civilization. It's really a shame more isn't being done to uncover this heritage. It belongs to us all - we all spring from the same source, after all. The Chief pointed to ancient Persia as being the possible home of the origins of proto-chess; that is one of the reasons I chose to learn more about Persia/Iran. H.J.R. Murray got it wrong, baby! 02 September 2007 LONDON, (CAIS) -- In pursuing their researching activities in Sistan plain, archaeology team of Sistan va Baluchestan University has succeeded to identify more than 700 historic and prehistoric sites in this part of Sistan va Baluchestan province. Since the excavations in Sistan plain have not been wrapped up yet, Rasoul Mousavi Haji, one of the heads of the archaeology team in Sistan plain gives the possibility for identifying some more historic sites in the area. “Although discovery of a large number of prehistoric sites shed light into the importance of this area during very ancient times, we have also succeeded in identifying a number of historical sites dating back to the post Achaemenid period (330-248) and Parthian dynasty (248 BCE-224 CE) for the first time in this area. A number of historical sites belonging to 12-15 centuries CE have been also identified in the region, which were never seen before,” said Mousavi to Persian service of CHN. The archaeology team has also succeeded in identifying of historical sites dating back to Achaemenid (550-330 BCE) and Sasanian (224-651 CE) dynastic eras in the region. Regarding of tracing civilization, cultural, and artistic evidence in the region, Mousavi Haji explained: “Identifying of historic evidence which is as old as the Burnt City are among the most prominent achievements during these archaeological activities in Sistan plain. These areas enjoyed industrial centres and we have also discovered a large number of decorative semi-precious gems such as lapis and opal.” These new discoveries bring into light that the industry of using ornamental gems was not limited to the Burnt City (Shahr-e Sukhteh) and the satellite hills of this prehistoric city also enjoyed similar industrial activity. Mousavi Haji further explained about discovery of a unique piece of earthenware with the design of a human being in one of prehistoric sites contemporary with the Burnt City which was never seen before in Burnt City and its satellite sites. According to Mousavi, the recent researches show that the number of prehistoric and historic sites in Sistan plain must have surpassed to what was previously assumed and each 6 kilometers of Sistan plain must have contained one historic site. This is while prior to this it was supposed that each 10 kilometres must have hidden a historic site. Archaeological excavations have been started by a team of archaeologist in 22 areas of Sistan plain which have been divided into two phases. According to Mehrafarin, one of the other heads of the team, discovery of more than 700 historic and prehistoric sites was the result of archaeological efforts during the first phase of activities. All achieved information in this researching project is due to be gathered and categorized in the archaeological Atlas of Sistan va Baluchestan province.