TEHRAN – The first phase of a project to preserve and protect the archaeological hill of Ramezan in the western province of Lorestan has come to an end, the provincial tourism chief has announced. 

“Since the hill lies near the Khorramabad-Arak freeway, the project was conducted to carry out archaeological studies and collect historical data about Tepe Ramezan to find appropriate solutions for how the freeway passes,” Seyyed Amin Qasemi said on Friday. 

The archaeological hill is located in Borujerd and was inscribed on the national heritage list in 2019, the official added. 

According to Britannica, Borujerd is a flourishing regional center on the main highway from the Persian Gulf and Khuzestan to Tehran. It is connected by roads with Hamadan and Kermanshah provinces. The district has many traces of ancient settlements in the form of tepes or ancient hills. 

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/AFM