TEHRAN – An online conference focusing on the history and archaeological sites of Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan province will be held from December 13 to 15.

Organized by the University of Zabol, the event titled “The 3rd International Conference on Archaeology of Southeastern Iran” is scheduled to bring together tens of archaeologists, historians, academia, and researchers from the Islamic republic and across the globe, CHTN reported on Tuesday.

The event will be addressing survey reports, regional and cross-regional interactions, history of arts, technology, and trade, multidisciplinary sciences, and archaeology in the Persian Gulf, according to organizers.

Sistan-Baluchestan is home to several distinctive archaeological sites and natural attractions, including two UNESCO World Heritage sites, namely Shahr-e-Soukhteh (Burnt City) and Lut desert.

In ancient times, according to Encyclopedia Britannica, the Baluchistan region provided a land route to the Indus Valley and the Babylonian civilizations. The armies of Alexander the Great marched through Baluchistan in 326 BC on their way to the Hindu Kush and their return march in 325 experienced great hardships in the region’s barren wastes.

For decades, Sistan-Baluchestan used to be shunned by potential foreign travelers. For mainstream Iranians, the name of Sistan-Baluchestan was conjuring up stories of drought, desiccated wetlands, and dust storms. On the international scale, foreigners may consider it reminiscent of the big red blot on the Iran safety map.

AFM