A
powerful explosion caused by road building operations near
a petrochemical plant strongly shook the historical site
of Bistun (Bisotoun) causing concerns about the safety of
ancient inscriptions at the site, reported CHN.
An expert of Iran’s Cultural Heritage and Tourism
Organization, Shokoufeh Mehdi-Abadi said that at 10 a.m.
on Saturday, a relatively strong explosion shook the
entire historical site of Bistun causing the movement of
gravels at the inscription of Farhad, who dug the
mountain, to reach his lover princess Shirin, from the
Sassanid dynasty.
“The tremor was so strong that smoke and dust covered
the entire site for at least 10 minutes,“ she said.
The same event happened sometime ago when representatives
of International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS)
were visiting Bistun.
They thought that a military exercise was underway in the
area, but, the explosion was part of operations undertaken
by the Petrochemical Company.
A police officer in the area Saeed Cheraghi told CHN that
the explosions were related to road building operations by
Petrochemical Company. He said that
the company, along with Nasr University Islamic Jahaad,
had obtained a permission to build an access road between
the factory and the main road.
“They
came across a large boulder on the way and detonated
explosives to blast the rock and continue the road
building operation.“
ICHTO has applied with UNESCO to register eight sites
including Bistun and Soltaniyeh near Zanjan as global
cultural heritage sites.
Bistun is located 30 km northeast of Kermanshah. There are
several reliefs and inscriptions including the inscription
of Darius the Great of Achaemenid dynasty, another
relief dating back to the Arsacid dynasty and a
Post-Achaemenid Statue
of Hercules and a large slate called Farhad Terrace
from the Sassanid period.
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Keywords: Bistun, Biston,
Bisotun, Bisotoon, Behestun, Behistun
