TEHRAN - Teams of archaeologists have started working across Bushehr in a bid to shed new light on the history of human settlement in the southwestern Iranian province.

The archaeological studies will be carried out on five different sites which date from the 5th millennium BC onwards, the deputy tourism minister said on Friday.

It is the first time that such studies will be conducted simultaneously on five historical sites of the province to refine its archaeological map, Nasrollah Ebrahimi said.

Some of the sites have yielded relics and ruins dating from the Elamite, Achaemenid eras, the official added.

Moreover, Bushehr is home to countless historical and architectural monuments, including mosques and praying centers, mansions, old towers, castles, and gardens.  

Experts say it is one of the most significant historical regions along the Persian Gulf, embracing significant monuments from the Elamite, Achaemenid, Parthian, and Sassanid eras.

Bushehr is famed for its ancient port Siraf, which has been nominated for possible registration on the UNESCO World Heritage list. It was Iran’s most important port from the Sassanid period to the 4th century AH. Siraf bears plentiful evidence of Persian mastership and genius in seafaring, international relations, and interaction with other near and far cultures and civilizations.

Between 1966 and 1973, the British Institute of Persian Studies conducted seven seasons of excavation and survey at Siraf, which was a major city on the Iranian shore of the Persian Gulf that played a leading role in the network of maritime trade that supplied Western Asia with the products of India, the Far East, and Eastern Africa between 800 CE and 1050.

AFM