TEHRAN –  Archaeologists have recently discovered the ruins of a stone structure estimated to have once belonged to the ancient nomadic tribespeople.

They also discovered pottery pieces of the first millennium BC as well as relics believed to date from the Parthian (247 BC – 224 CE) and Sassanid (224-651 CE) eras.

The excavation was held on the outskirts of Shahr-e Kord, the capital of Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari province.

Some 20 archaeological trenches were carved at the site which yielded bones, glassworks, and other cultural objects, CHTN quoted Ali-Asghar Noruzi, who led the excavation, as saying on Sunday.  

The potteries are the same as ones previously discovered in Tall-e Bakun, a prehistorical site situated in the fertile Marvdasht plain of Fars province, near the UNESCO-designated Persepolis, the news agency reported.  

Last year, a team of archaeologists led by Noruzi discovered a gigantic prehistorical site, estimated to cover some 10 ha in area, in the Iranian province. “An important archaeological site with an area of 10 hectares has been identified near Ardal city of Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari province,” Noruzi as said.

“This archaeological site has important archaeological values in terms of expansion in the area, which can be an important place to study the process of transition from Paleolithic to Neolithic and the process of creating the first human settlements in this part of the Zagros [mountain range],” the archaeologist explained.

The first well-documented evidence of human habitation is in deposits from several excavated cave and rock-shelter sites, located mainly in the Zagros Mountains of western Iran and dated to Middle Paleolithic or Mousterian times (c. 100,000 BC).

From the Caspian in the northwest to Baluchistan in the south-east, the Iranian Plateau extends for close to 2,000 km. It encompasses the greater part of Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan west of the Indus River containing some 3,700,000 square kilometers. Despite being called a “plateau”, it is far from flat but contains several mountain ranges, the highest peak being Damavand in the Alborz mountain range at 5610 m, and the Dasht-e Loot east of Kerman in Central Iran falling below 300 m.

AFM