[MSN] Smugglers destroy Iron Age cemetery south of Tehran

[Museum Security Network Mailinglist]

Smugglers destroy Iron Age cemetery south of Tehran 

Tehran Times Culture Desk 
TEHRAN -- An Iron Age cemetery in southern Tehran Province has been severely
damaged by smugglers, the Persian service of CHN reported on Wednesday.

The cemetery at Pardis Tepe near Varamin was excavated by a team of
archaeologists from the University of Tehran and Britain's University of
Leicester and University of Bradford last year but was left without any
guards or protective fences.

"Unfortunately, due to the lack of any measures to safeguard the site, the
Iron Age graves discovered during the excavations have been demolished by
unknown persons and have been obliterated forever from Iran's ancient
history," said Hassan Fazeli Nashli, the head of the team that excavated the
site.

The human bones and artifacts discovered during the excavations have been
scattered on the ground at the site.

"A lot of time and money were spent on the excavation and research, but many
graves from the Iron Age -- an important period in archaeological studies --
have been demolished. For example, it took twenty days of hard work to
excavate a grave containing an Iron Age couple, but the grave has been
destroyed and the skeletons have been irrevocably damaged," he explained.

He said that the Varamin Governor's Office and the local police were
responsible for guarding the site, adding, "As an expert, I have carried out
my duties at the site. Officials and the people should have protected the
site."

Varamin Governor Hamid Nik-Hemmat expressed regret over what happened and
ordered all relevant organizations to make efforts to increase the level of
security at Varamin cultural heritage sites.

"Illegal excavations rarely occur at Varamin's ancient sites. However, very
serious measures will soon be taken to prevent such events from recurring in
the city because it is one of the history- making cities of Iran near Tehran
which must protect its cultural status," he said.

According to Nik-Hemmat, the police are investigating the case in order to
arrest the culprits.

Pardis Tepe also contains sites dating back to the sixth and fifth millennia
BC. Several pottery kilns, a potter's wheel, a spindle, and many grey shards
have been discovered at the site during previous excavations.

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