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Iran
possesses some unique fossil rich sites, however,
insufficient protection and lack of care has
endangered them.
Lack
of proper protection of fossil rich areas has put
one of the unique Iranian treasures in danger.
Studies prove that some fossils discovered in Iran
so far date back to 600 million years ago.
Mohammad Jafarian, an expert and founder of
Isfahan Natural History Museum said, “There are
unique fossil rich areas in Iran which are not
protected at all, while in other countries, areas
with rich treasures of either plant or animal
fossils are fenced with barbed wire and protected
attentively. The fossils unearthed at these sites
are later on put on public display. In these
countries no one is permitted to enter the
secluded areas and the fossils discovered in the
sites should not be moved out. However, in Iran a
student can easily obtain some of these fossils
and send them abroad to be categorized for their
thesis purposes. Unfortunately most of these
fossils do not return to the country.”
“People are not well informed about these issues
and this has resulted in vast destructions of
these fossil rich sites. Some people in Maragheh
for example, which is a town in east Azarbaijan
province, northwest of Iran, burn vertebrate
fossils like those of rhinoceroses and elephants
to make fertilizer for their farms while
vertebrate fossils are among rare and unique
fossils in Iran,” added Jafarian.
“As most of these fossil rich areas in Iran are
deprived of a thick vegetation, discovering
fossils, which are usually laid aground and don
not need any excavation, is not costly at all,”
explained Jaffarian, “and in some fossil rich
zones one can find fossils easily scattered around
the site. This facilitates the scientists’
access to the remains.”
Pointing out the undesirable aspect of
accessibility of fossils to almost everyone which
has caused serious and considerable damage to
these sites, he went on, “If Iran were a member
of International Paleontology Association, these
fossils would be studied at an international level
without any cost for Iranians.”
Baba Heidar region in Tchahar Mahal-o-Bakhtiyari
province, Dah Mulla near Damghan, Tchriseh in
north of Isfahan province, Houjdak in northern
Kerman province, Parvardeh in Tabas, and Mazinou
in Rabat Khan in Khorasan province are among the
most prominent fossil rich sites in Iran.
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