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<< News >> Sixth Salt Man Discovered in Chehr-Abad Mine

Submitted by coldrum on Friday, 18 July 2008  Page Views: 5884

Multi-periodCountry: Iran Type: Ancient Mine, Quarry or other Industry

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The sixth salt man was discovered in Chehr-Ābād Mine in Zanjan City. It is likely that a large number of salt men were buried in Chehr-Ābād Salt Mine, said Farhang Farokhi head of Zanjan Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ZCHTO). Five previous discovered salt men are being kept in Washhouse Museum, he added.

Based on previous reports, Chehr-Ābād Mine had been used from the Achaemenid dynastic era (550-330 BCE) up to the early of the Sassanid dynasty (224-651 CE).

The first salt man was discovered in Zanjān’s Chehr-Ābād salt mine by accident by the miners in 1993. More than a decade later in November 2004, the body of the second salt man was discovered in the same salt mine. The year 2005 was the year of salt men discoveries and bodies of the third, fourth, and fifth salt mummies were unearthed in January, March, and December 2005.

These salt men are among rare mummies discovered around the world that are mummified as a result of natural conditions. Since the salt men have been buried in salt for centuries, most of their tissues are well preserved. Special conditions of the salt mine which prevented the activities of micro-organisms caused the excellent preservation of organic and inorganic materials in the mine.

Tests carried out by Oxford University Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit (ORAU) on the remains and clothing of first and second saltmen, C14 assigned date to the late Parthian dynastic era (1745 BP). The remains of other three saltmen known by numbers 3, 4 and 5, which were also victims of collapsed tunnels C14 testing have placed them in post-Achaemenid period (2245 BP).

cais-soas.

Note: Update on the Iranian salt men, an excavation is planned
Contributor Bio for coldrum: Based in Milkyway, contributing since 2002. Favourite site: Avebury.

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"Sixth Salt Man Discovered in Chehr-Abad Mine" | Login/Create an Account | 4 News and Comments
  
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Iran attempts to maintain 4 salt mummies by coldrum on Wednesday, 17 June 2009
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Iran attempts to maintain 4 salt mummies

Iran's four saltmen, unique salt mummies, have found a new resting place is one of the most advanced display cases in the world.

The vacuum chamber in Zanjan can precisely control humidity and airflow and is provided with a nitrogen-rich mixture deadly to known bacteria and mold.

Iranian, British, German and Austrian researchers declared air and humidity the main enemies of salt mummies at the 2nd International Seminar on the Archeology and Pathology of Saltmen in October, 2007.

The experts examined the saltmen's condition to make the final decision on carrying out further studies on the Chehrabad salt mine, where the saltmen were found.

The Chehrabad Salt Mine is located in the Hamzehlou region of Zanjan province in northwestern Iran. The saltmen, also known as the Iranian salt mummies, were accidentally discovered by miners in 1993.

Three of the saltmen date to the Parthian (247 BCE - 224 CE) and the Sassanid (224 - 651 CE) eras, while all other human remains discovered at the site go back to the Achaemenid Dynasty (550 - 330 BCE).

Artifacts have been discovered alongside the skeletons, including leather shoes, a leather bag, a terracotta lamp and two cow horns, most of which remain intact.

Salt at the mine worked to preserve the artifacts, as well as the internal organs of the salt men themselves. Fingernails and hair have also been found undamaged, which will enable scientific testing to be carried out that could reveal further clues about these ancient people.

http://www.payvand.com/news/09/may/1123.html
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Re: Sixth Salt Man Discovered in Chehr-Abad Mine by Andy B on Friday, 18 July 2008
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I've created a Site Page to show the approx location of the Salt Mine:

http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=19541
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Iranian and international experts to excavate salt men’s necropolis by Andy B on Friday, 18 July 2008
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A joint team of Iranian and foreign experts will collaborate on a project planned to excavate the Chehrabad Salt Mine, where all six of the “salt men” were discovered.

Archaeologists and experts on other related fields from Germany, England, and Austria will participated in the project, which is expected to begin in spring 2009 in the salt mine located in the Hamzehlu region near Zanjan, northern Iran, the Persian service of CHN reported on Monday.

“The Chehrabad Salt Mine is one of important Iranian ancient sites, on which archaeological studies should regularly be continued,” the Archaeology Research Center of Iran Director Mohammad-Hassan Fazeli Nashli said.

The results of the studies carried out in UK University of York and Oxford University on the salt men, which were offered during a two-day international conference on the Iranian mummies in Zanjan in October 2007, showed how much the interdisciplinary fields have progressed and can contribute to the development of the archaeological sciences, he explained.

The researches partially shed light on the salt men’s diet. Based on the studies, the experts surmise that the Fourth Salt Man had come from Mazandaran, a region in northern Iran, to Zanjan, Fazeli Nashli added.

Some of the salt men have been damaged over the past 14 years as a large area of the privately-owned salt mine has been bulldozed.

Studies on the Fourth Salt Man indicate that the body is 2000 years old and he was 15 or 16 years old at the time of death.

It is still not clear when the other salt men lived, but archaeologists estimate that 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.

Four of the salt men are kept at the Rakhtshuikhaneh Museum in Zanjan and the Sixth Salt Man was left in-situ due to the dearth of equipment necessary for its preservation.

http://www.mehrnews.ir/en/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=708534
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Re: Sixth Salt Man Discovered in Chehr-Abad Mine by coldrum on Wednesday, 21 May 2008
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Mummified salt men of Iran shifted to archaeological museum

Four salt men, which are Iranian mummies, have been shifted to an archaeological museum in Iran.

Over the past decade, six salt men have been unearthed at the Chehrabad Salt Mine located in the Hamzehlu region near Zanjan, Iran.

Out of these six salt men, four were kept at the Rakhtshuikhaneh Museum in Zanjan.

But now, these four have been placed inside windows of hygroscopic glass at the Zanjan Archaeology Museum, according to the Persian service of CHN.

The first phase of the project is completed now despite the insufficient funding for renovation of the Zolfaqari House and the four salt men are transferred to the museum, head of the Archaeological team at the mine Abolfazl Aali told CHN.

Except the First Salt Man which is on display at the National Museum of Iran in Tehran, the other four are put on display at this museum, he added.

According to Aali, the fourth Salt Man has remained intact compared to the other ones.

Studies on the Fourth Salt Man indicate that the body is 2000 years old and that he was 15 or 16 years old at the time of death.

The Sixth Salt Man was left in-situ due to the dearth of equipment necessary for its preservation.

It is still not clear when the other salt men lived, but archaeologists estimate that the First Salt Man lived about 1700 years ago. He is believed to have died sometime between the ages of 35 and 40. (ANI)

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/entertainment/mummified-salt-men-of-iran-shifted-to-archaeological-museum_10048601.html

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