Situated in Iran’s southern province of Fars, Tang-e Bolaghi will be flooded by the waters of the Sivand Dam, which is scheduled to be completed by March 2006. The ancient site is located only four kilometers away from Pasargadae, the first capital of the Achaemenid dynasty (about 550-331 B.C.) and the residence of Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Persian Empire. Pasargadae was registered on UNESCO’s World Heritage List last July. Even the mausoleum of Cyrus the Great is believed to be at risk.
“We worked in an area which seemed to date back to pre-Achaemenid times, but under a layer of alluvium, the stone remains of a village were unearthed. We thought that the place had been a temporary habitation, but the one-hectare area of the site surprised us,” Asgari added.
“The village is located beside the imperial route of the Achaemenid era. Thus, it will provide a large amount of information on the lifestyle in this era,” he noted.
“Only a small part of the area can be studied before the beginning of the Iranian New Year (March 21), when the team will end work at the site,” Asgar sighed.
A number of experts of the Parseh and Pasargadae Foundation from Iran and teams of Italian, Polish, Japanese, French, German, and Australian archaeologists began operations in early January to save 129 ancient sites at Tang-e Bolaghi. Each team is working on a specific site.
Tang-e Bolaghi also contains sites from the Neolithic and Paleolithic periods, the middle and late Elamite era (2700-645 B.C.), and the Sassanid era (224-651 C.E.).
A number of other dams, all in advanced stages of construction, have been identified as threatening Iran’s ancient sites in several provinces including Gilan in the north, Kermanshah in the west, Khuzestan in the southwest, and East Azarbaijan in the northwest.
The reservoir of the Karun-3 Dam in Khuzestan was recently filled and a large amount of the cultural heritage of ancient Izeh was submerged under mud forever.
Archaeologists had identified 80 sites in the region from the Epipaleolithic period (20,000-10,000 B.C.), including 13 caves and four rock shelters. The river valley also has a large number of rock-carved reliefs, graves, ancient caves, and other monuments and artifacts from the Elamite era.
MMS/HG
End
MNA
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