TEHRAN – Iranian archeologist Hassan Basafa said on Wednesday that further surveys confirms the previous notion that Seh Tappeh (meaning three hills), an archaeological site near Neyshabur city in northeast Iran, dates back to the Iron Age.

“Seh Tappeh, which is situated near Neyshabur, belongs to the Iron Age according to series of analysis conducted on cultural materials (especially potteries) and architectural remains found in the site,” Said Basafa, who is a professor at the University of Neyshabur.

He made the remarks during the 17th Annual Symposium on the Iranian Architecture which was attended by international cultural heritage experts, historians and archaeologists at the National Museum of Iran in downtown Tehran, IRNA reported.

Basafa briefed audiences about findings of the third archaeological digs conducted at Seh Tappeh, which is situated in Khorasan region of the ancient country.

The Archaeologist stated that original architecture of the site was built on a large brick platform.

“This area can be compared to the cultural scene of the Central Asia so that it (Seh Tappeh) can be regarded as being on a business route between the Central Asia and the Iranian Plateau.”

“Cultural materials excavated from the area along with clay fragments, beads of different genres such as azure and turquoise and bronze, and stamped seals indicate a cultural and commercial link between Khorasan region and Central Asia and possibly the Iranian plateau.”

The second season was conducted in 2017 by a team of younger generations of Iranian archeologists and researchers whose efforts led to the discovery of ruined architectural structures, artifacts, and human remains.

Supervised by Iran’s Research Institute for Cultural Heritage and Tourism (RICHT), excavations at Seh Tappeh are aimed to shed a new light on the life, culture and economy of Neyshabur residents in Iron Age as well as probing their cultural and trans-regional communications with other nations of the time.

The Iron Age is an archaeological era, referring to a period of time in the prehistory and protohistory of the Old World (Afro-Eurasia) when the dominant toolmaking material was iron.

AFM/MG