TEHRAN—A new book titled “Death in Salt: An Archaeological Research in Iran” has recently been published in Persian to tell the story of a joint Iran and German research on a mysterious ancient mine.

The book puts the spotlight on the professional conservation and storage as well as the promotion of extraordinary organic finds and mummies in Iran from the Achaemenid and Sassanid eras, which are mainly located in the Zolfaghari Archaeological Museum in Zanjan.

Furthermore, the book covers discoveries that have produced and will continue to produce important scientific discoveries to play a significant role in the identity of the entire region.

“In this book, the results of an international interdisciplinary research project, the landscape and history of the Iranian plateau, the archeology of Zanjan’s Cheharabad mine, and the mutual effects of the mine and its surrounding environment have been examined,” the director of Iranian National Museum Jebrael Nokandeh said on Wednesday.

Nokandeh said the book features scientific achievements of the joint project of Iran and Germany and their findings in the Cheharabad mine that date from the Achaemenid period (c. 550 - 330 BC) onwards.

According to Nokandeh, the National Museum and the German Mining Museum in Bochum have made considerable cooperation in line with an agreement they signed in 2017, based on which the two institutions have held exhibitions of each other's historical and cultural artifacts related to the subject of ancient mining.

What was a catastrophe for the ancient miners has become a sensation for science. Sporting a long white beard, iron knives, and a single gold earring, the first salt mummy was discovered in 1993. He is estimated to be trapped in the mine in ca. 300 CE. In 2004 another mummy was discovered only 50 feet away, followed by another in 2005 and a “teenage” boy mummy later that year.

In 1993, miners in the Douzlakh Salt Mine, near Hamzehli and Chehrabad villages, accidentally came across a mummified head. The head was very well preserved, to the extent that his pierced ear was still holding the gold earring. The hair, beard, and mustaches were reddish, and his impressive leather boot still contained parts of his leg and foot, according to the Ancient History Encyclopedia.

The first mummy dubbed the “Saltman” is on display in the National Museum of Iran in Tehran. He still looks very impressive. The third, fourth, and fifth “saltmen” were also carbon dated. The third body was dated and placed in 2337 BP, the fourth body in 2301 BP, and the fifth mummy was dated to 2286 BP, placing them all in the Achaemenid period.

The isotopic analysis of the human remains revealed much information about the salt mummies.Besides, the archaeological finds, such as animal bones found within the context of the saltmen, showed that the miners might have eaten sheep, goats, and probably pigs and cattle, as well. The archaeobotanical finds recorded showed different cultivated plants were eaten, indicating an agricultural establishment in the vicinity of the mine.

The wealth of fabric and other organic material (leather) worn by the saltmen have allowed a thorough analysis to be undertaken, detailing the resources used to make the fabrics, the processing, the dyes used to color the fibers of the garments, and not least they offer an excellent overview of the changes in cloth types, patterns of weaving, and the changes of the fibers through time.

In addition, the saltman No. 5 had tapeworm eggs from the Taenia sp. genus in his system. These were identified during the study of his remains. The find indicates the consumption of raw or undercooked meat, and this is the first case of this parasite in ancient Iran and the earliest evidence of ancient intestinal parasites in the area. The best preserved and probably the most harrowing of the saltmen is Saltman No. 4. A sixteen-year-old miner, caught in the moment of death, crushed by a cave-in.

The Ngwenya Mine in Eswatini (Swaziland) is believed to be the oldest-known mine, which dates some 43,000 years old. At this site, Paleolithic humans mined hematite to make the red pigment ochre. Moreover, mines of a similar age in Hungary are believed to be sites where Neanderthals may have mined flint for weapons and tools.

AM