Posted on 12/21/2004 3:19:40 PM PST by blam
Archaeologists believe they have discovered part of throne of Darius
Tehran Times Culture Desk
TEHRAN (MNA) -- Iranian archaeologists believe they have found a part of one leg of the throne of Darius the Great during their excavations at Persepolis, the ancient capital of the Achaemenid dynasty, the director of the team of archaeologists announced Sunday. “Four archaeologists of the team found a piece of lapis lazuli during their excavations in water canals passing under the treasury in southeastern Persepolis last year,” said Alireza Askari, adding, “The studies on the piece of stone over the past year led the archaeologists to surmise that the stone had probably been a part of a leg of the throne of Darius.”
According to historical sources, the upper parts of the throne of Darius were been made of gold, silver, and ivory and its legs were made of lapis lazuli, Askari said.
The throne had been transferred to the treasury after Xerxes I, the son of Darius, was crowned king. In addition, the figures carved on the stone are similar to the relief works in different parts of Persepolis, he stated.
Archaeologists have speculated that the piece of stone fell into the canals after Persepolis was destroyed and looted by Alexander the Great.
Persepolis was established by Darius I in the late 6th century B.C. Its ruins lie 56 kilometers northeast of Shiraz. Darius transferred the capital of the Achaemenid dynasty to Persepolis from Pasargadae, where Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Persian Empire, had ruled.
GGG Ping.
I saw Persepolis in the early 70's. Really a cool place!
Lapis lazuli or lapis for short is mostly lazurite but commonly contains pyrite and calcite. The name means blue rock and is always a brilliant blue with violet or greenish tints. The rich blue color is due to the sulfur that is inherent in the structure of lazurite. In a piece of jewelry the small crystals of pyrite found in lapis blend with the setting, looking like gold in a gold setting and silver in a silver setting, giving the stone a personality all its own.
Googleized I never heard of it.
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I'd finding it difficult to make due with my current throne: The white one.
Nobody pays attention when I yell my edicts from it. Like someone get me some TP
Hopefully they won't turn it into rubble like the Taliban did to those huge Buddhist statues.
Alexander the Great already trashed Persepolis circa 331-330 B.C.
Darius, wasn't that the king in the Biblical story of Esther?
Right you are. Didn't read through the article, just the headline (and my Persian history is not so great). Guess they didn't find a whole lot of the throne.
Cool picture by the way.
That's fine for Hootie, but where do the Blowfish sit?
read later
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Thank you immensely for that picture. The thread wouldn't have been complete without it!
Yes.
Cool -- He's got a Ronald Reagan hairdo.
LOL
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