Ancient Relief and Inscription Found in Boushehr

Excavation in Dashtestan in the southern province of Boushehr has led to the discovery of a stone inscription in New Babylonian language and a relief of the Achaemenid King, Darius.

The excavation was carried out in Darius palace in Dashtestan, also known as Bardak Siah Palace, and led to the discovery of new historical remains.

According to an official with Boushehr ICHTO, Ali Zakeri, some pieces of the stone southern entrance of the palace hall, and a column base with an inscribed line have been discovered.

Although the beginning and end of the inscription is lost, it still includes some words that are right now being studied by linguists and scholars of ancient languages.

The preliminary studies by linguists such as Dr. Abdolmajid Arfa’i show that the handwriting is in New Babylonian language.

The stone from the southern port which has also been unearthed in the excavation in an upside down position shows Darius’ face, while a servant holds an umbrella over his head from behind.

The face part of the relief is completely destroyed, and scholars believe that invaders ruined the relief before moving on toward Persepolis, today located in Fars province.

Two large pieces of stone have been discovered in the land around the port, which are the completing pieces of the stone inscription and will be put together during the restoration work.

Bardak Siah Palace was discovered in Dashteshtan in 1977 by Dr. Ehsan Yaghma’i, who also led the new series of excavations in the area. The palace is like Apadana of Persepolis with 36 columns, 16 of which were found in the first season of excavation.

The columns were made of wood timbers and were covered with brick and plaster layers. They have had capitals resembling eagle and lions, remains of which including an eye and feather of the eagle, plus the muzzle and some teeth of the lion have already discovered.