TEHRAN- A 600-year-old Juniper in Aligudarz, western Lorestan province, has recently been inscribed on the national heritage list, the provincial tourism chief has announced.

The Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts announced the inscription on Sunday in a letter to the governor-general of the province, Seyyed Amin Qasemi said on Tuesday.

The height of the tree, which is of the cypress family, is estimated at 24 meters. It is 168 centimeters in diameter and its circumference is 52 meters.

Juniper is a very valuable and long-lasting species that grows in mountainous and high areas and has a special place in the legends and myths of Iranian people.

It has long been a symbol of immortality in Iranian culture and it can be seen in historical Iranian miniatures.

Lorestan, which is a region of raw beauty, was inhabited by Iranian Indo-European peoples, including the Medes, c. 1000 BC. Cimmerians and Scythians intermittently ruled the region from about 700 to 625 BC. The Luristan Bronzes noted for their eclectic array of Assyrian, Babylonian, and Iranian artistic motifs, date from this turbulent period. Lorestan was incorporated into the growing Achaemenid Empire in about 540 BC and successively was part of the Seleucid, Parthian, and Sasanid dynasties.

ABU/MG