TEHRAN – Three millennia-old have been discovered on the outskirts of the UNESCO-registered Burnt City, which is situated in Sistan-Baluchestan province, southeast Iran.

“Three archaeological sites have been found on the outskirts of Shahr-e Sukhteh (Burnt City) in the northern part of the province and their antiquity dates back to 5th millennium BC and the 3rd millennium BC,” provincial tourism director Alireza Jalalzai announced on Wednesday.

The sited were found during a gas-pipeline laying project and no (ruined) structures have been identified there so far, he explained.

A demarcation plan will be operated soon to define historical boundaries for the sites before the pipeline operation resumes, he said.

Founded around 3200 BC, the Burnt City was populated during four main periods up to 1800 BC. Previous rounds of excavations showed that its residents had great skills in weaving, creating fine arts such as decorative objects, stone carving, and pottery painting.

Known as Shahr-e Sukhteh in Persian, the Burnt City is situated in Sistan-Baluchestan province that was once a junction of Bronze-Age trade routes crossing the Iranian plateau. Shahr-e Sukhteh is associated with four rounds of civilization, all burnt down by catastrophic sets of fire.

AFM/