TEHRAN - A rare textile document from the Sassanian era, inscribed in Pahlavi script and bearing eight seals, is set to be unveiled at Sari’s cultural heritage museum located in northern Iran.

The announcement was made by Hossein Izadi, who presides over Mazandaran province’s tourism directorate, CHTN reported on Monday.

According to Izadi, the artifact was discovered by a mountaineer named Mohammad Ali Ebrahimi in 1969 during an ascent to a cave, situated near Hastijan village in Delijan county in Markazi Province.

Since its discovery, the textile document has been kept in Ebrahimi's home under non-museum conditions.

Ebrahimi, upon learning of the artifact's historical significance, decided to voluntarily donate it to the Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts Department of Mazandaran province, the official explained.

Following verification and documentation, the artifact was officially handed over to the Sari cultural heritage museum which is embedded inside in the historical Kalbadi Mansion.

Izadi expressed gratitude for the donation and emphasized the importance of preserving such valuable objects. The Sassanian-era document will be displayed at the museum, where it will be accessible for public viewing and scholarly study.

The Sassanid era (224 CE–651) is of very high importance in the history of Iran. Under the Sassanids, Persian art and architecture experienced a general renaissance. Architecture often took grandiose proportions, such as the palaces at Ctesiphon, Firuzabad, and Sarvestan, which are amongst the highlights of the ensemble.

Crafts such as metalwork and gem engraving grew highly sophisticated, yet scholarship was encouraged by the state. In those years, works from both the East and West were translated into Pahlavi, the language of the Sassanians.

In 2018, UNESCO added an ensemble of Sassanian historical cities in southern Iran — titled “Sassanid Archaeological Landscape of Fars Region”-- to its World Heritage list. The ensemble comprises eight archaeological sites situated in three geographical parts of Firuzabad, Bishapur, and Sarvestan.

AM