Elam
-- Director general of the cultural heritage
department of Ilam province Arash Lashkari said
Wednesday that excavations works have been
launched in the historical city of Darrehshahr,
west of Iran.
He
said the 50-day operations started earlier this
week by a team of archeologists led by ms Simin
Lakpoor.
Lashkari
said that the excavations were aimed at shedding
further light on the unknown features about
historical background of the ancient area.
The
present operations are the fifth stage of
excavations in the ancient city which started in
recent years, he said, adding that rls 50 million
has been allotted to the project.
The
ancient Darrehshahr region which is situated in
the neighborhood of a city with the same name is
famous for its invaluable historical remains.
Unearthed
remains of a city structure including residential
quarters, passages, stables, market place, public
bath and modern sewage system have attracted the
attention of Iranian and foreign archeologists in
recent years.
Some
foreign experts call the unearthed city as the
second and lost capital of the 'Selukis' while
some Iranian archeologists believe that the
monuments are part of the state of 'Sirvan'.
Ms
Lakpoor had previously estimated that the city
dated back to the Sassanid era, 226-651 A.D.
