TEHRAN – German Archaeologists and experts along with Iranian fellows have commenced a joint survey in Kerman province, southeastern Iran.

Senior Iranian archaeologist Nader Alidad-Soleymani and German Professor Peter Pfalzner co-led the survey, which is aimed to record evidence about previously excavated sites in the counties of Jiroft, Kahnouj, Anbarabad, Faryab, Rudbar, Qalehganj and Manujan, ISNA reported on Saturday.

“A delegation of Iranian and German archaeological experts has arrived in Kerman to start the sixth season of a research in southern parts of Kerman province in order to document the hills and sites, which had been identified during the past five seasons,” Alidad-Soleymani said.

“Over the past five seasons of archeological research, much of these areas have been studied by Iranian and German archaeologists, shedding light on [archaeological] hills, landscapes, structures and human settlements, which date from the Neolithic era [also known as the “New Stone Age”] up to various Islamic periods.”

Supervised by Iran’s Cultural Heritage and Tourism Research Center, the previous surveys adopted a methodology that involved field sampling methods, pottery documentation, setting up a database system and carbon dating.

Back in 2008, Piotr Steinkeller, professor of Assyriology in Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations of Harvard University, announced that Jiroft is the lost ancient city of Marhashi.

Steinkeller presented his theory during the first round of an international conference on Jiroft civilization, held in Tehran on May 5 and 6, 2008. Marhashi, (known in earlier sources as Warahshe) was a 3rd millennium BC polity, which was formed east of Elam on the Iranian plateau.

Big and sprawling Kerman Province is something of a cultural melting pot, blending various regional cultures over the course of time. It is also home to rich tourist spots and historical sites including bazaars, mosques, caravanserais and ruins of ancient urban areas.

AFM/MG