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CAIS ARCHAEOLOGICAL
& CULTURAL NEWS©
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War
Ordnance Hampers Archaeological Explorations in Western
Iran
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09
May 2004
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The western Iranian province of Ilam has long
been a major thoroughfare linking Iran to other lands. Some
experts believe what is known as the Achaemenid way used to pass
through Mehran in the province.
That is why many archeologists long to carry out studies in the
area. However, dud ordnance littered in the area from the eight
year war with Iraq means that the undertaking is highly risky.
A group of experts from the University of Chicago who was
scheduled to carry our research in the area under the
supervision of Iranian archeologist Abbas Alizadeh canceled its
plans earlier for safety reasons.
Over the course of war, a large part of the Ilam province became
mine fields. The low lying Ilam plains were not discovered in
the recent history.
As the ice age drew to a close, primitive man strolled down the
mountains towards the plains. Archeologists believe Ilam was the
first low-lying plain human kind landed in. Asked on the
historical significance of Ilam as well as the Choqa Ahovan and
Choqa Gawaneh area, Alizadeh said he had planned to conduct
studies to see if Ilam was the first human settlement in the
plains.
“If we could find relics more than 9000 years old, we might be
near the validation of the hypothesis,” Alizadeh said.
Currently, the low-lying Dehloran and Khuzestan plains have so
far yielded finds some 7000-8000 old.
Yet, the existence of mine fields around Mehran has made
explorations in the area dangerous.
Iranian army suggests some 1.5 million hectares in the country
were littered with ordnance from the war. Army officials so far
half of the area has been cleared. The continued archeological
explorations in Ilam depend of clearance of the whole area.
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"History
is the Light on the Path to Future"
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Encyclopaedia
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"Persepolis
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