Archaeological excavations in Iran's northern Gohar Tappeh site have yielded the remains of Caspian horse, the oldest equine breed still in existence. The remains were found during the 8th phase of excavations in a cemetery dating back to the late Bronze and early Iron Age eras, around 3400 BCE, CAIS reported. Read more (163kb, PDF)
German-Iranian team to study city divisions of Gohar-Tappeh prehistoric site
"We plan to study that how the citys divisions and governmental centers were formed at the site during the forthcoming season of excavation" - team director Ali Mahforuzi
A team of Iranian archaeologists plans to search for signs of writing at the 6000-year-old Qoli Darvish Tepe site near the city of Qom during their next phase of excavations, which is scheduled to begin in early September.
"I am sure I will find an inscription at the site. Thus, it will be the first time such an event has occurred in the centre of the Iranian Plateau" - Siamak Sarlak, team director.
During the third phase of excavations carried out at the site last year, the team had found evidence in the lower strata indicating its urbanisation process began in the third millennium BC.
"These findings, including remains of architectural structures, pot burials, and a great number of special pots for measuring foodstuffs, which had never been seen before in the center of the Iranian Plateau, inspired us to center on writing in our upcoming excavations. Measuring pots provide evidence for the urbanization of an archaeological site and were used by people to share foodstuffs in ancient times. We have unearthed over 1000 of such pots, which indicate the people’s transition to the urban era" - Siamak Sarlak.
Qoli Darvish Tepe has been seriously damaged by construction of the Qom-Jamkaran Highway over the past decade, such that only ten percent of the ancient site remains intact. The tepe once covered 50 hectares and was 30 meters in height, but now it is 6 meters in height and only 10 hectares of the site remain untouched. There is evidence that Qoli Darvish was inhabited from the fourth millennium BC to the ninth century CE.
Road construction and railroad development are threatening the 6000-year-old Yaqut-Tappeh mound near Behshahr in Iran’s northern province of Mazandaran, the Persian service of CHN reported on Sunday.
A team of archaeologists recently began excavations at Yaqut-Tappeh to save artifacts from sections of the site which will be buried under the road being constructed for Amirabad Port. Railroad construction previously destroyed over 3000 square meters of the site 70 years ago.
"However, some parts of the mound are still intact. The team has excavated the site and found evidence from the Chalcolithic period, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age. The team has also unearthed a 40-centimeter black stratum, which is believed to be sediment brought by a flood over 30,000 years ago. We have discovered three graves dating back to the Iron Age. One of the graves is intact" - team director Ali Mahforuzi.
Gohar-Tappeh, another ancient site previously excavated by Mahforuzi’s team, is located very close to Yaqut-Tappeh.
"The mounds date back to the third and fourth millennia BC and the two regions had relations during Gohar-Tappeh’s transition phase to urbanization. The theory has been proven due to the slag that has remained from the Bronze Age kilns. Some evidence also increases the possibility that Yaqut-Tappeh was an industrial site" - Ali Mahforuzi.
Mazandaran is one of Iran’s archaeological poles. Studies show that the region has been inhabited for over 400,000 years. Urbanization is thought to have developed in the region some time around 3000 BC, and the new findings at Yaqut-Tappeh and Gohar-Tappeh provide further evidence for this theory.