TEHRAN- The stone lions, which were placed on top of the tombstones of brave people in the past, are planned to be collected from throughout the Kazerun county, in the southern Fars province,  to eventually be displayed in a museum.

It has been estimated that there are over 80 historical stone lions in the county, but a few of them have been destroyed, Kazerun’s tourism chief has announced. 

There are more profiteers to blame than natural disasters and weather conditions for the destruction of the historic stone lions, Mohammad Javad Jokari said on Sunday. 

Kazerun’s Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Department has been working on resolving this problem and collecting lion stones at a designated place, the official added. 

In response to this concern, a land of one thousand meters for a museum was donated and enclosed, and it is hoped that with adequate funding, this area will soon see the opening of a museum, he explained. 

Stone animals such as stone lions and stone rams were placed on top of the tombstones of courageous people as a symbol of bravery and valor.

The ancient region of Fars, also spelled Pars or Persis, was the heart of the Achaemenian Empire (c. 550–330 BC), which was founded by Cyrus the Great and had its capital at Pasargadae. Darius I the Great moved the capital to nearby Persepolis in the late 6th or early 5th century BC.

The capital city of Shiraz is home to some of the country’s most magnificent buildings and sights. Increasingly, it draws more and more foreign and domestic sightseers flocking into this provincial capital which was the literary capital of Persia during the Zand dynasty from 1751 to 1794.

ABU/AFM