The head of the team, Mahin Kermanjani, said that experts believe that the sites are from the Stone Age, the Copper Age, and the Parthian and Sassanid eras.
A total of 130 historical sites and an Islamic cemetery with 600 graves were previously unearthed in the area, so, with the new discoveries, there are now 170 archaeological sites at Sar-e Pol-e Zahab, Kermanjani added.
She stated that the sites begin in the Neolithic era and continue until the Achaemenid and Parthian eras, adding, “Several Sassanid castles that were constructed on the mountains are also seen among the new discoveries. Considering the arduous path to reach the castles, they must have been used as military fortifications.”
The function of some of the structures can not be immediately determined, since only their foundations remain, and additional studies are required, Kermanjani explained.
She went on to say that land mines left over from the Iran-Iraq war in the border towns have created some problems for cultural heritage experts during their excavations, adding that some of the sites have also been used for agricultural purposes by farmers, although experts are still trying to find ruins under those farmlands.
Sar-e Pol-e Zahab has long been a residential area inhabited by many different ethnic groups over the course of history due to its good climate.
RM/HG
End
MNA
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