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Source: tehrantimes.com

Iranian Archaeologist Says Recent Discoveries Show That Jiroft Civilization Predated Sumer

 

TEHRAN (CHN) -- The discovery of inscriptions and architectural remains in the historical Jiroft area by the bank of the Halilrud River in southeastern Iran indicates there was a major civilization in the area, the head of an international archeological group said at the end of a second season of explorations in Jiroft.

 

Attending a briefing session, Dr. Yusef Majidzadeh noted that the second season yielded one of the oldest ziggurats in the world, which is believed to date back to 2300 B.C. and measures 400x400 meters on the first level and 250x250 meters in the second.

 

"An inscription of the third millennium B.C. is the oldest writing system to be discovered in eastern Iran and shows that eastern Iran entered the historical period in the third millennium B.C.," Majidzadeh added.

 

All these discoveries suggest that there have been sophisticated government and economy with a booming trade some 5000 years ago, the archeologist credited with first throwing the spotlight on the area said.

 

"The discovery of inscriptions, a ziggurat, and many cultural remains in Jiroft thought to be contemporary with the Sumerian civilization in Mesopotamia as well as the independence of the Halilrud River civilization could shift the archaeological and civilization landscape in the Middle East," he concluded.

 

Other members of the team also presented their findings in this meeting, including Dr. Pitman, an arts professor from the University of Pennsylvania, who said the discovery of writing on an artifact backed theories that a major civilization existed in eastern Iran when a civilization thrived in Sumer.

 

Stressing the importance of the archaeological excavations in Jiroft, Pitman noted they would open a new chapter in Middle Eastern archaeology.

 

The second season of explorations in the historical area by the bank of the Halilrud River started two months ago as a number of international experts from the Sorbonne, the University of Pennsylvania and other universities converged on eastern Iran.

 

The team included five foreign scholars.

 

The historical Jiroft area is located in Iran's Kerman Province near the city of Jiroft. It has some of the world's most important archaeological sites. About 100 historical sites have been located along the 400 km of the Halilrud River, some dating back to 3000 B.C.

 

Many archaeologists believe that the recent discoveries prove that the Jiroft civilization was as important as Sumer and Mesopotamia, while Majidzadeh believes the findings show that the Jiroft civilization was older and more advanced than the Sumerian civilization, which is one of the oldest known civilizations.