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<< News >> Experts studying Achaemenid and Parthian fabrics

Submitted by coldrum on Sunday, 04 February 2007  Page Views: 2451

DiscoveriesCountry: Iran A team of Iranian experts from Zanjan University and the Zanjan Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicraft Department (ZCHTHD) are surveying the textiles found at the Chehrabad Salt Mine in the Hamzehlu region near Zanjan.

“In addition to five salt men, about 300 pieces of fabric dating back to the Achaemenid and Parthian eras have been discovered at the mine so far and the experts are currently studying the artifacts,” the director of the archaeological team working at the Chehrabad Salt Mine, Abolfazl Aali, told the Persian service of CHN on Wednesday.

Some of the pieces of fabric bear various designs and some of them measure one meter in length.

“Zanjan University is well-equipped and famous for its experts in chemical research and has provided excellent labs for ZCHTHD’s archaeologists,” Aali explained.

The weave of the fabrics as well as their colors and motifs will be studied during the project.

Textiles with such diversity are rarely found in ancient sites.

Five bodies dubbed “salt men”, clad in various types of dress, have been unearthed by mineworkers over the past ten years.

Exploitation of the privately-owned mine was halted by the Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicraft Organization (CHTHO).

The first Salt Man lived about 1700 years ago and died sometime between the ages of 35 and 40. He is currently on display in a glass case at the National Museum of Iran in Tehran.

The team of archaeologists is still searching for more salt men in the mine.

There are plans to put all of the salt men on display at the Anthropology Museum of Zanjan.

mehrnews.
Contributor Bio for coldrum: Based in Milkyway, contributing since 2002. Favourite site: Avebury.

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"Experts studying Achaemenid and Parthian fabrics" | Login/Create an Account | 1 comment
  
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Archaeologists discover Achaemenid predecessor of Yazd city by coldrum on Wednesday, 21 May 2008
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Archaeologists discover Achaemenid predecessor of Yazd city

A team of experts from the Yazd Cultural Heritage Center recently discovered the Achaemenid era predecessor of the city of Yazd.

Covering some 500 hectares, the ancient city is located about 12 kilometers away from the modern city of Yazd, YCHC Director Mohammad-Hassan Khademzadeh told the Persian service of CHN on Friday.



The team has unearthed ruins of the city as well as shards, ancient kilns, and masses of kilns’ clinkers and pieces of glass, he added.



Khademzadeh said the discovery marked a turning point for the archaeological excavations of the region and the studies on the central Iranian Plateau.



They have also found ruins of some qanats (underground aqueducts) at a nearby site. They surmise that the upcoming studies will likely provide evidence proving that qanats were in use in pre-Achaemenid times.



“There will be a major breakthrough in the study of the history of qanats in Iran if the upcoming operations show that qanats played a key role in the establishment of the city,” Khademzadeh noted.



Up to the now, the Achaemenid era qanats near the city of Bam in the southern province of Kerman are the most ancient underground aqueducts discovered in Iran.



There is no historical evidence regarding the founding of Yazd, but the city became esteemed for its silk textiles during the Sassanid Empire (224-651 CE).



Khademzadeh believes that the upcoming excavations will shed light on the beginnings of urban life in the region.



There are many Zoroastrian religious sites in the modern city of Yazd and the nearby regions, which make it a center for the followers of the ancient Iranian religion.



The city also is home to several major Islamic monuments.

http://www.mehrnews.ir/en/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=684385
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