Posted on 12/19/2006 2:38:42 PM PST by blam
Shrouded 5000-year-old child unearthed in southeastern Iran
TEHRAN, Dec. 19 (MNA) -- The skeleton of a 5000-year-old child wrapped in a winding sheet was discovered at the foot of a wall in the Taleb Khan Mound, which is located near the Burnt City in Sistan-Baluchestan Province. “The skeleton was discovered in a room of a house, while remnants of a white cloth were found around it. The cloth shows that the child had been shrouded before burial,” Mehdi Miri, the director of the archaeological team working at the site, said on Tuesday.
“It was common for children to be buried at home during prehistoric eras, but what astounds the archaeologists is that the Taleb Khan Mound is located a short distance from the Burnt City and was one of the city’s satellite villages, but the Burnt City has a cemetery separate from the urban area while the Taleb Khan site has burials in its residential area,” he explained.
The skeleton of the child, whose milk teeth still remain, has been sent to the Burnt City Research Center and a team of experts is carrying out botanical studies on pieces of the cloth at Zabol University.
The archaeologists discovered a similar burial at the site two years ago, but it had deteriorated and very little was left.
The team has also discovered many pottery works as well as several slings and grey dishes bearing motifs similar to those on the dishes discovered at the Jiroft ancient site in Kerman Province.
Four ovens for baking bread, which date back to about 2000 BC, are some of the other important finds made at the Taleb Khan Mound.
Most of the artifacts discovered at the Taleb Khan Mound date back to about 2800 BC, but the most significant fact about the site is that the settlement remained inhabited even after the Burnt City was abandoned.
Covering an area of 180 hectares, the Burnt City was built circa 3200 BC and destroyed some time around 2100 BC.
It had four stages of civilization and was burnt down three times. Since it was not rebuilt after the last time it was burnt down, it has been named the Burnt City.
This is Stupid. A 5000 year old is hardly a Child. This is Unimaginably old.
Burnt City at it again.
Is shrouded after burial possible? Why is this a point of interest?
A 5,000 year old child? Then I must be, at age 60, merely a zygote!
Hmmmm. Related?
Like NOLA...
Probably had a suicide vest on right?
First 5000 year old child I've ever heard of.
Do these reporters actually graduate from journalism school?
Have we heard from the thousand (10,000 would be more appropriate for this) year old man lately? Wasn't that a Steven Allen character?
Was he beheaded or stoned to death?
Oh, Im sorry, this predates Mohamed and his cult.
Uhh, good point.
"It had four stages of civilization and was burnt down three times. Since it was not rebuilt after the last time it was burnt down, it has been named the Burnt City."
Boy these guys sure are real good at naming stuff, ha ha ha. Seriously, thanks for posting this, following this stuff is kind of a hobby
Maybe Mel Brooks...I'm too old to remember.
FMCDH(BITS)
Yeah, I am thinking it was Mel Brooks on the Steve Allen Show. Not that Mel Brooks was ever on the Steve Allen Show; he might have been, it was that kind of humor.
"What about diet? What do you eat?"
"Nectarines: half a peach, half a plum, it's a hell of a fruit"
the 12th imam?
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