A Rush to Excavate Ancient Iranian Sites

N.Y.Times ^ | Nov. 27, 2005

[nuconvert]

A Rush to Excavate Ancient Iranian Sites

NAZILA FATHI

November 27, 2005

TEHRAN, Nov. 26 - Archaeologists from around the world have been rushing to excavate scores of newly identified ancient sites in southern Iran before the area is flooded by a new dam.

Iran has been planning for a decade to build the Sivand Dam in Fars Province, between the ruins of the ancient Persian cities of Persepolis and Pasargadae. But the Iranian Cultural Heritage Organization knew little about the broader region until three years ago, when archaeologists identified 129 potentially important sites in the region that will be flooded by the new dam.

Last year, the United Nations issued an international appeal for archaeologists to unearth and record what they could before the flooding.

Teams from the United States, Poland, Germany, France, Italy and Japan are working together in the Tang-e Bolaghi Valley, looking for the ruins of Persepolis and Pasargadae, cities that at different times were capitals of ancient Persia, northeast of modern Shiraz.

Construction on the dam, planned to allow irrigation in the arid region, has been postponed until early 2006, and the Ministry of Energy has agreed to halt the project if a major site is discovered.

"The dam is a pity but it has provided us with a rare opportunity to do extensive work alongside other teams over a short period of time," said Rémy Boucharlat, the leader of the French archaeological team in Iran.

Pasargadae, founded by Cyrus the Great as the first dynastic capital of the Achaemenids and the Persian Empire, was known for its architecture as well as its liberality and respect for cultural diversity before it fell to Alexander the Great.

Persepolis was founded by Darius the Great, Cyrus's eventual successor, as the empire's ceremonial capital in 518 B.C

[nuconvert]

pong

[nuconvert]

You may sign a petition here............

http://www.petitiononline.com/Pasargad/petition.html

[keithtoo]

Sittin' on a sea of oil and yet these Mohameddans insist on developing Hydro and Nuke-U-Ler power.

I'm in continuous debt to the one Frenchie who knew how to fight. Charles Martel - the second most important person in this era - after JC.

[quantim]

This may interest you.

[Wally_Kalbacken]

I got your excavation...right here!

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks quantim.

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[maryz]

was known for its architecture as well as its liberality and respect for cultural diversity before it fell to Alexander the Great.

LOL! Coincidence???