TEHRAN – Vestiges of urban life attributed to Elamite-era (c. 2700 – 539 BC) have been found at Tappeh Sofalin, a prehistoric archaeological site located near Pishva, Tehran province, Mehr reported on Monday.

“For many years, we have been searching for such architectural evidence that proves Tappeh Sofalin was not solely a marketplace or bazaar but a dwelling place as well,” Mehr quoted Morteza Hessari who leads a team of Iranian and German archaeologists at the site.

“We already encountered some remnants of human life including fragments of potteries as well as architectural remnants by the end of the sixth excavation season.”

The team ultimately expanded excavation zones when the seventh season commenced, a strategy that resulted in further discoveries associated with urban architecture, he explained.

Several famous ceramics unearthed such as pot-shaped, nose-handle containers, a tray, as well as dual and multiple color vessels, Research Institute of Cultural Heritage and Tourism reported.

Experts believe that Tappeh Sofalin was inhabited since fourth millennium BC up to the Iron Age. Excavation at the site started in 2006 under the supervision of Hessari.

Tappeh Sofalin is located northward Pishva and east of the Rey plain adjacent to Varamin.

Elam was an ancient pre-Iranian civilization centered in the far-west and south-west of what is now modern-day Iran, stretching from the lowlands of what is now Khuzestan and Ilam provinces as well as a small part of southern Iraq.

PHOTO: Experts are seen at an excavation site at Tappeh Sofalin, northcentral Iran.

AFM/MG