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88 Cuneiform Inscriptions Discovered At Chogha Zanbil Ziggurat
The Tehran Times ^ | 7-27-2006

Posted on 07/27/2006 11:28:05 AM PDT by blam

88 cuneiform inscriptions discovered at Chogha Zanbil Ziggurat

Tehran Times Culture Desk

TEHRAN -- Eighty-eight brick inscriptions were recently discovered at the 3250-year-old Chogha Zanbil Ziggurat in southwestern Iran’s Khuzestan Province, the Persian service of CHN reported on Wednesday.

A team of experts restoring the middle section of the ziggurat discovered the cuneiform inscriptions on the northeastern and southeastern walls.

“Only a few of the inscriptions are intact. The inscriptions were discovered when the workers were removing rubble from the bases of the walls,” team director Bijan Heidarizadeh said.

French archaeologist Roman Ghirshman had said nothing about the inscriptions in his studies on the ziggurat, he added.

With 300 papers and 20 books published, Ghirshman (1895–1979) was one of the most prolific and respected experts on ancient Iran. His studies on Chogha Zanbil have been printed in four volumes, which are still the most reliable sources on the ziggurat.

The team also discovered a drainspout in the ziggurat. The discovery disproves the theory posed in Ghirshman’s studies on the distances between the drainspouts of the ziggurat.

Chogha Zanbil was long considered the only surviving ziggurat in Iran, but excavations of Konar Sandal at the Jiroft ancient site in the southern Iranian province of Kerman have revealed that it is another ziggurat.

Chogha Zanbil is a major remnant of the Elamite civilization, which was constructed in the Elamite city of Dur Untash. It is located near Susa, the ancient capital of Elam, and was registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1978.

Built about 1250 BC under the direction of the Elamite ruler Untash-Gal during the Middle Elamite period (c. 1500–c. 1000 BC), the complex was dedicated to Inshushinak (Insusinak), the bull-god of Susa. The square base of the ziggurat, 344 feet (105 meters) on each side, was built principally of brick and cement. It now stands 80 feet (24 meters) high, less than half its estimated original height.


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 88; chogha; citiesoftheplain; cuneiform; deadsea; discovered; elamite; godsgravesglyphs; greatriftvalley; inscriptions; valleyofsiddim; zanbil; ziggurat
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1 posted on 07/27/2006 11:28:07 AM PDT by blam
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To: SunkenCiv

GGG Ping.


2 posted on 07/27/2006 11:28:35 AM PDT by blam
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To: blam

In further news, the inscriptions appear to say, "Bush's fault".


3 posted on 07/27/2006 11:35:55 AM PDT by Seruzawa (If you agree with the French raise your hand - If you are French raise both hands.)
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To: blam

They say, "For good time call......."


4 posted on 07/27/2006 11:36:04 AM PDT by Red Badger (Is Castro dead yet?........)
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To: blam
The team also discovered a drainspout in the ziggurat. The discovery disproves the theory posed in Ghirshman’s studies on the distances between the drainspouts of the ziggurat.

File that under "wow" with a capital "W"!

5 posted on 07/27/2006 11:47:20 AM PDT by pgyanke (Christ embraces sinners; liberals embrace the sin.)
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To: blam

Do you have any idea what this means?!?

6 posted on 07/27/2006 11:48:14 AM PDT by gridlock (The 'Pubbies will pick up two (2) seats in the Senate and four (4) seats in the House in 2006)
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To: blam

The inscriptions were discovered when the workers were removing rubble from the bases of the walls,”

They say "This side up."


7 posted on 07/27/2006 11:53:46 AM PDT by Adder (Can we bring back stoning again? Please?)
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To: blam
The discovery disproves the theory posed in Ghirshman’s studies on the distances between the drainspouts of the ziggurat.

I ... I can't believe it. Ghirshman ... was wrong?

8 posted on 07/27/2006 12:22:51 PM PDT by agere_contra
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To: pgyanke

Presumably the differential distances in downspouts caused probelms with their prefabricated gutter guards.


9 posted on 07/27/2006 12:29:56 PM PDT by rod1
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To: Red Badger

You know at least one of them said "here I sit broken hearted..."


10 posted on 07/27/2006 12:32:10 PM PDT by WV Mountain Mama (God bless Israel and their men and women fighting against an evil, cowardly enemy.)
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To: WV Mountain Mama

.....and one says, "The king is a fink!".........


11 posted on 07/27/2006 12:34:30 PM PDT by Red Badger (Is Castro dead yet?........)
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To: rod1
Presumably the differential distances in downspouts caused probelms with their prefabricated gutter guards.

They must have used aluminum instead of vinyl..........

12 posted on 07/27/2006 12:35:46 PM PDT by Red Badger (Is Castro dead yet?........)
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To: blam; FairOpinion; StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; 24Karet; 3AngelaD; ...
Thanks Blam. Somehow I missed this. Note to all: this is from July 2006.

To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. Thanks.
Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on or off the
"Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list or GGG weekly digest
-- Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.
Gods, Graves, Glyphs (alpha order)

13 posted on 12/10/2006 3:38:40 PM PST by SunkenCiv (I last updated my profile on Thursday, November 16, 2006 https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: SunkenCiv; blam

...picture of the temple tower, seen from the west. It must be stressed that this building is in Khuzestan, ancient Elam. From a geological, climatological, and ethnological point of view, we're no longer in Iran, but on the plains of the rivers Euphrates, Tigris, Karkheh, and Dez. In other words, we're in Mesopotamia.

http://www.livius.org/a/iran/chogha_zanbil/cz.html

14 posted on 12/10/2006 3:46:45 PM PST by Fred Nerks (MEDIA + ENEMY = ENEMEDIA!)
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To: Fred Nerks

fascinating...and this is more fascinating.

http://www.elam.com/


15 posted on 12/10/2006 3:55:49 PM PST by eleni121 ( + En Touto Nika! By this sign conquer! + Constantine the Great))
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To: blam

Fascinating article. Thank you.


16 posted on 12/10/2006 5:24:13 PM PST by Wormwood (Everybody is lying---but it doesn't matter because nobody is listening)
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To: blam
"French archaeologist Roman Ghirshman had said nothing about the inscriptions in his studies on the ziggurat, he added."

The inscriptions probably said, "Frenchmen Suck!"

17 posted on 12/10/2006 7:46:15 PM PST by albee (The best thing you can do for the poor is.....not be one of them. - Eric Hoffer)
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To: Fred Nerks

That ziggurat actually looks like a trendy piece of modern architecture.


18 posted on 12/10/2006 8:17:00 PM PST by Ciexyz (Satisfied owner of a 2007 Toyota Corolla.)
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To: SunkenCiv

The link to the Tehran Times (at top of article) no longer has the original article available. I would have liked to have seen a photo of the inscriptions.


19 posted on 12/10/2006 8:21:01 PM PST by Ciexyz (Satisfied owner of a 2007 Toyota Corolla.)
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To: agere_contra
I ... I can't believe it. Ghirshman ... was wrong?

Good heavens......If Ghirshman was wrong it knocks the underpinnings out from ALL of our assumptions.

20 posted on 12/10/2006 8:26:16 PM PST by TexasNative2000 (Is this tagline governed by McCain-Feingold?)
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