The latest season of archaeological excavations in the Burnt City of Sistan-Baluchistan province starts Thursday, Dec 2 mainly in its graveyard in a bid to learn more about its inhabitants’ race, height, sanitation and diet over 5,000 years ago.

The phase would last for 75 days and a group of Italian experts would team up with their Iranian colleagues to conduct geophysical surveys of the city, widely believed to be one of the earliest civilized settlements worldwide.

“In the eighth season of excavations, we would first draw up its geophysical map, which would serve as a solid basis for further studies in the archaeological site,” said head of research team Mansour Sajjadi.

Experts plan to identify underground structures, starting at the cemetery of the ruined city. “Our most significant task would be excavating the northeastern part of the Burnt City, aiming to reach older layers of the once booming settlement. We hope to dig out some artefacts dating from the first settlement here over 5,000 years ago,” he added.

 

The city, possibly built at the onset of urban life in Iran’s plateau, has a whopping 30,000 to 40,000 graveyards, providing experts with a vast treasure of artefacts acting as a prehistoric databank.

“We intend to learn about the inhabitants’ socioeconomic situation, diet, sanitation and their beliefs. We also plan to find out from where they migrated to the Burnt City and when,” Sajjadi added.