TEHRAN -- Director of the archaeological team excavating Tappeh Dasht, a satellite site of the 5200-year-old Burnt City in Sistan-Baluchestan Province, gave details about the statuettes discovered at the mound.

A total of 65 human and animal statuettes along with a large number of pottery and shards have been unearthed from the Tappeh Dasht site during excavations being carried out in the region until March 21, 2009, Mehdi Mortazavi told the Persian service of CHN on Sunday.
He said that the site was used to produce pottery works for the people living in the Burnt City during the ancient times.
Since most of the statuettes are broken, the archaeologists surmise that they were scrap, he explained.
One of the statuettes depicts a pregnant woman and another is of a man wearing ornaments like a necklace, Mortazavi stated.
“Some of the statuettes are Sistani bull, which is believed to be respected in the region 5000 years ago,” he added.
The team has also discovered two kilns, one of which is believed to be used for baking the statuettes and another for pottery works.
Mortazavi said that premium earth, easy access to water and fuel from animal wastes and plants, and 120-day wind blowing in the region are the factors encouraged development of workshops producing pottery at Tappeh Dasht during the ancient times.
Located at a distance of 3 kilometers in south of the Burnt City, Tappeh Dasht is 8 to 10 meters in height.
The Burnt City is located 57 kilometers from the city of Zabol in southeastern Iran.