TEHRAN – A newly identified Elymaean rock carving has been discovered in the highlands of Kuh-e Manar in Andika, southwest Iran, according to the director of the Masjed Soleyman Cultural and Industrial Landscape National Base.

Ayyoub Soltani told Mehr News Agency that the carved panel, located in the central district of Andika county, may provide one of the most significant clues for understanding the religious and ritual system of the Elymaean people in the central Zagros region.

Soltani said the Elymaeans were direct heirs to the artistic and cultural traditions of the Elamites. Studies indicate the group flourished from the decline of Achaemenid power to the rise of the Sasanian Empire, he said, adding that their peak influence and autonomy occurred during the Parthian era. Many Sasanian artistic elements were inherited from the Elymaeans and Parthians, who carried Elamite and Achaemenid traditions into the Sasanian period, he added.

He said the growing number of identified Elymaean sites, tombs, shrines and rock carvings across the Bakhtiari highlands demonstrates the extent of their territory and the continuity of their cultural presence. The newly identified carving at Manar, he said, offers a new perspective on the belief system of the group because of its distinctive content.

In addition, Soltani described Andika as a “connecting link between the mountainous and lowland ecosystems of the Zagros,” reflecting a zone of interaction among Elymaean cultural traditions in the central and southern regions of the range.

Explaining the technical details of the carving, he said the sculptor prepared an irregular, roughly trapezoidal surface measuring 70 by 81 centimeters on the rock face. Within this frame, he said, three figures were carved, though parts of their details have been lost due to natural weathering and deliberate damage.

According to Soltani, the left figure depicts a “heroic, nude male,” shown in a three-quarter profile with a powerful physique. He is depicted raising a large round object in his right hand--possibly a ritual mace--while gripping the throat of the central figure with his left hand.

The central figure is a serpent-like creature with three heads, stretching 83 centimeters in length, he said.

On the right, Soltani said, a man wearing Parthian clothing is shown in full frontal view. The figure is dressed in a long garment with visible folds and resembles priestly figures seen in some other Elymaean carvings.

He said the composition, the modelling of the chest, arms and thighs, and the posture of the figures suggest a deliberate emphasis on heroic and ritual themes. The scene may have been inspired by the mythological combat between Hercules and the Hydra, a motif also found on the reverse of Greek coins from 325 BC, he said.

Soltani said the carving is scientifically important and unique among known Elymaean works. Severe erosion of the rock surface and the loss of parts of the inscriptions require the use of interdisciplinary methods such as next-generation laser scanning and the preparation of an accurate mould, he said.

Physical protection, digital documentation and precise recording of the site are priorities for the research base, Soltani added.

According to sources, Elymaean (aka Elymais or Elamais) was an autonomous state of the 2nd century BC to the early 3rd century CE, frequently a vassal under Parthian control. It was located at the head of the Persian Gulf in Susiana (the present-day region of Khuzestan, Iran. Most of the population probably descended from the ancient Elamites, who once had control of that area.

AM