[FREE IRAN Project] In The Spirit Of Cyrus The Great

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Mulla Sadra Dam begins devouring ancient sites in southern Iran


http://www.mehrnews.ir/en/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=347422

TEHRAN, July 2 (MNA) -- Another of Iran’s ancient sites is being submerged, as officials of the Mulla Sadra Dam in Iran’s southern province of Fars have been filling the reservoir since May.

A total of 42 sites from the Elamite, Achaemenid, Parthian, Sassanid, and Islamic eras will be flooded by the dam and two others dams, the Salman-e Farsi and Marvast dams, currently under construction in the region.

The Mehr-Ali Farsi site, a 7000-year-old mound, will also be submerged by the Mulla Sadra Dam, the director of the team excavating the site, Azizollah Rezaii, told the Persian service of CHN on Sunday.


The team has received an excavation license from the Iranian Center for Archaeological Research (ICAR), but the Ministry of Energy -- the main sponsor of dam construction projects in Iran -- refuses to fund the excavation despite its agreement with the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization, he added.

“Mehr-Ali Farsi is one of Iran’s most significant prehistoric sites, which has the potential to provide good answers to many questions about this era in the region. Although the site had been discovered before the flooding began, the officials of the dam project quickly began filling the reservoir,” Rezaii explained.

Some parts of the site have already sunk beneath the water, and the entire site will be submerged under 15 meters of water with the autumn rainfall, he added.

“We plan to work on the site for the next three months, which requires one billion rials (over $100,000) of funds, but Energy Ministry officials have said that they are unable to provide the money at the present time,” Rezaii said.

“They have asked ICAR to provide the funds for excavations and said the ministry will repay the sum in the future. But our previous experience in the Bolaghi Valley shows that it will take time for the ministry to repay the sum,” he noted.

The Ministry of Energy owes the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization 3 billion rials for the rescue excavations currently underway in the Bolaghi Valley, another ancient site in Fars Province, which will be flooded by the Sivand Dam when it comes on stream in late August.


MMS/HG

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MNA