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Evidence of Human-Animal Joint Burial in Pardis Tepe
Following accidental discovery of a cemetery belonging to Second Iron Age (some 3200 years ago) during sounding works in the vicinity of 7000-year-old Pardis prehistoric hill in Varamin, Tehran province, the excavations in this cemetery have been also started which has resulted in some interesting discoveries. Evidence shows that human and animals were buried together in this cemetery alongside some clay vessels which must have belonged to the dead.
This prehistoric cemetery has been discovered in a situation that the bulldozers of the brick factory have destroyed most parts of the cemetery. According to experts, so far they have succeeded in unearthing 5 graves during their excavations in this cemetery. Considering the importance of this historical site, archeologists are determined to continue their work for at least 20 days.
“This cemetery which dates back to the Iron Age II was accidentally discovered during excavations in the vicinity of Pardis historic hill. Excavations in this historic cemetery have been launched by digging some trenches in the area where piles of human bones existed,” said Bayrom Lori, a member of excavation team in Pardis Tepe.
According to Lori, some cultural evidence belonging to Parthian dynastic era (248 BC-224 AD) has been also discovered in these graves which show that some damages might have been taken place in this area during Iron Age by Parthian tribes.
Regarding the achieved results in this historic cemetery, Lori told CHN: “The discovered graves are in a disordered situation and no specific burial method was practiced in them. However, in most of the discovered graves, the human corpse was buried alongside an animal which must have belonged to the dead person and some clay vessels which were put under the foot of the dead.”
Experts believe that existence of remains of human bones and some domestic animals such as caw which can still be found in the area would provide them the chance to uncover some unknown facts about people’s life during Iron Age in this area.
Lori further explained that considering that this historic site is threatened with destructions caused by human beings and natural events over time, the excavations in this 3200-year-old cemetery have been started in an attempt to save it against possible damages.
According to this archeologist, pedology, plantology, osteology, chronology, and alloy testing are among the future programs in this prehistoric site which will be conducted by joint cooperation of domestic and foreign experts.
Due to lack of enough guards in Pardis Tepe, this prehistoric site has been plundered several times by illegal diggers who have posed serious harms to this area in hope to find treasures. Amir Beshkani, another member of excavation team in Pardis Tepe believes that since the area of Pardis hill has not been delimited yet, archeologists have many problems on their way for excavating this historic site. “Owners of these lands show a lot of opposition to archeological excavations in the area and not only do not cooperate with archeology team, but also sometimes sabotage salvation activities in the area,” said Beshkani.
In order to protect this historic site which contains some invaluable information about Iron Age, Beshkani believes that authorities of Varamin municipality, city council, and governor office, as well as Iran’s Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization should cooperate to take tough measures in this regard.
Located in Varamin city, Tehran province, Pardis historical hill dates back to the fifth and sixth millennia BC and the remains of a Parthian fortress (248-224 AD) can be seen on the upper layer on this historical hill. Cultural heritage experts strongly believe that the area has the potential to be turned into a museum park.
http://www.chnpress.com/news/?section=2&id=7111
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