Bardak Siah is located near the city of Borazjan in Iran’s southern province of Bushehr.

The brass triangle-shaped artifact was covered with verdigris, said Ehsan Yaghmaii, adding that it was probably a tool used in architecture and construction or for tool-making.

“The seashells were caught in the Persian Gulf and were later fashioned by the inhabitants. Recent studies on the shells indicate that the inhabitants of Bardak Siah used to arrange the shells in various shapes making new ornaments. The discovered pieces were used as the feather of an eagle ornament discovered in the palace,” he added.

The archaeological team began the excavations under the supervision of Yaghmaii, whose earlier team had discovered the Darius Palace in 1977. The Darius Palace, also known as the Bardak Siah Palace, is somewhat similar to the Apadana Palace in Persepolis. The palace had 36 columns. Sixteen bases of the columns were unearthed during the first phase of the excavations. Each column rose to about 20 to 23 meters.

Built during the Achaemenids’ zenith, the palace had been destroyed by fire in a war, the archaeologists explained.