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.CAIS NEWS© ARCHAEOLOGICAL & CULTURAL NEWS OF THE IRANIAN WORLD |
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Shrouded 5000-Year-Old Child Unearthed in Southeastern Iran
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19 December 2006 |
LONDON, (CAIS) -- The skeleton of a 5000-year-old child wrapped in a winding sheet was discovered at the foot of a wall in the Taleb Khan (tāleb-xān) Mound, which is located near the Burnt City (Shaahr-e Sukhtә) in Sistan va Baluchestan Province.
“The
skeleton was discovered in a room of a house, while remnants of a white cloth
were found around it. The cloth shows that the child had been shrouded before
burial,” Mehdi Miri, the director of the archaeological team working at the
site, said on Tuesday.
“It
was common for children to be buried at home during prehistoric eras, but what
astounds the archaeologists is that the Taleb Khan Mound is located a short
distance from the Burnt City and was one of the city’s satellite villages, but
the Burnt City has a cemetery separate from the urban area while the Taleb Khan
site has burials in its residential area,” he explained.
The
skeleton of the child, whose milk teeth still remain, has been sent to the Burnt
City Research Centre and a team of experts is carrying out botanical studies on
pieces of the cloth at Zabol University.
The
archaeologists discovered a similar burial at the site two years ago, but it had
deteriorated and very little was left.
The
team has also discovered many pottery works as well as several slings and grey
dishes bearing motifs similar to those on the dishes discovered at the Jiroft
ancient site in Kerman Province.
Four
ovens for baking bread, which date back to about 2000 BCE, are some of the other
important finds made at the Taleb Khan Mound.
Most
of the artifacts discovered at the Taleb Khan Mound date back to about 2800 BCE,
but the most significant fact about the site is that the settlement remained
inhabited even after the Burnt City was abandoned.
Covering
an area of 180 hectares, the Burnt City was built circa 3200 BCE and destroyed
some time around 2100 BCE.
It
had four stages of civilization and was burnt down three times. Since it was not
rebuilt after the last time it was burnt down, it has been named the Burnt City.
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Extracted From/Source: Mehr N Please
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Providing additional historical information within the text; -Removing any
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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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