TEHRAN –Recent heavy rain has inflicted no damage to historical sites and monuments across the western province of Lorestan, the provincial tourism chief has said.

Despite two days of continuous rains, cultural heritage experts observed no damage to the province’s historical sites during their field visits, Ata Hassanpur explained on Saturday.

However, due to the fact that Lorestan is known as the land of historical bridges, with more than 100 historic bridges, the proximity to rivers and rising water following heavy rains have placed these structures at risk of flooding, he added.

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/AM