UNESCO to Help Second Stage of Renovation Plan of Chogha Zanbil Ziggurat
UNESCO has contributed $500,000 to the renovation process of Chogha Zanbil ziggurat, which has been registered with the World Human Heritage.
Located in the province of Khuzestan in southwestern Iran, the structure is one of the most ancient monuments in the country.
The Elamites built the ziggurat approximately 2500 years B.C. It resembles the architecture employed in the Egyptian pyramids and Mayan temples.
The first stage of the plan for renovating the large Chogha Zanbil ziggurat was to study and teach the ways for preserving and renovating the brick temples. It has been recently accomplished.
The budget of the first stage (about one million dollar) has been provided by the Japanese government.
The Chogha Zanbil ziggurat, the only surviving ziggurat in Iran, is a major remnant of the Elamite civilization. The Elamite nation lived in Iran about 2500 years B.C.
And now, the second stage of Chogha Zanbil ziggurat’s renovation plan is underway; the agreement on implementing the second stage has been signed by Koichiro Matsura director-general of UNESCO and the Iranian ambassador to UNESCO Ahmad Jalali in an official ceremony on Thursday.
Speaking at the ceremony, Matsura referred to the educational advantages of the plan for the region, and described it as a successful example of Iran-UNESCO scientific-educational relations.
Jalali, for his part, praised the Japanese measures in this concern and called for further cooperation.
By implementing the second stage of the plan, there will be a great number of experts for preserving the brick buildings in the Middle East, and this is significant to the scientific development of the region.