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.CAIS ARCHAEOLOGICAL & CULTURAL NEWS OF IRANIAN WORLD© |
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Kalvarz Harmed By Illegal Excavations
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04 April 2006 |
LONDON, (CAIS) -- Unfettered illegal excavations conducted in Kalvarz after 1979 revolution made the region devoid of scientific values for archaeological excavations.
Kalvarz archaeological site is located in Rostamabad, Gilan province, where a
governmental citadel has been discovered. The citadel is engulfed by a wall
which is made of stone and is two meters in width.
In the course of previous excavations, archaeologists had discovered
architectural remnants from the Iron Age, including dining halls, sitting rooms,
lobbies, an oven for baking bread, a garbage pit and a number of earthenware.
Kalvarz hills were deserted for unknown reasons following the collapse of the
Arsacid dynasty.
Head of the Prehistoric Department of the Archaeology Research Center, Mohammad
Reza Khalatbari, recalled that short after the 1979 Revolution, illegal
excavators started digging up the Kalvarz cemetery which inflicted heavy damages
on the historic area.
He told ISNA that Kalvarz comprises of a cemetery and an archaeological hill.
“The hill had not been studied prior to the revolution because it was under
the ownership of the former Intelligence Service (SAVAK) in Gilan,“ he added.
“In the wake of the 1990 tragic earthquake in Roudbar, road construction
vehicles came across a number of ancient graves. A team of archaeologists was
dispatched to the area to examine the discoveries. The result was 18 historic
graves and a number of valuable objects.“
According to Khalatbari, Kalvarz was again driven into oblivion until 2001 when
a team comprising Iranian and Japanese experts resumed excavations in the
region. However, the operations were later suspended due to disagreements which
erupted between archaeologists from the two nations.
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"History is the Light on the Path to Future" |
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Encyclopaedia Iranica
The British Institute of Persian Studies "Persepolis Reconstructed"
The British Museum
The Royal Asiatic Society
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