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 LONDON,
(CAIS) -- The team of archaeologists working at the Sasanian
city of Gur also known as Ardeshir-Khurra "Glory of
Ardeshir", has completely unearthed the murals of
four members of the Sasanian imperial family which they had
discovered in the Menarshahr region of the ancient site in
early January, the Persian service of CHN reported on
Saturday.
Carved
on one of the walls of a newly discovered palace at the
site, these colorful unique mural depict two
princesses along with a prince and child with a calf. The
team had previously unearthed only the heads of the murals
and knew nothing about their clothing or other
accessories.
“The
imperial family members are all young, and this is the
first time such murals have been discovered from the
era when King of Kings Ardashir I (224-241 CE) reigned,”
the head of the archaeological team, Leili Niakan, said.
"All
of the murals are intact except one of the
princesses, whose head has been destroyed by the ravages
of time", she added.
“These
murals show the continuity and survival of Parthians
art during the Sasanian dynastic era in its early stages.
The colors have skillfully been used as the murals seem alive on the walls. They have used green and crimson
to paint the shapes,” Niakan explained.
“The
child seems to be the son of the princess standing beside
him. The prince stands beside the other princess with a
certain dignity. The clothing of the princess indicates
that she also is young and may be the wife of the
prince,” she added.
Located
10 kilometers from Firuzabad in Fars Province, the
circle-shaped city of Gur was the first capital of the
forth Iranian dynasty, the Sasanians, which was established
during the reign of the founder of the dynasty, king of
kings Ardashir I. Very few studies have been carried out
on the city, which is one of the five most important Sasanian
cities. It covers an area of 300 hectares.
This
city had four main gates on each side including Mehr
(Mithra) gate on the east, Bahram (Vrahram) gate on the
west, Hormoz (Urmazd) gate on the north, and Ardeshir gate
on the south.
The
first archaeological excavations in this historical site
have been started under the supervision of veteran German archaeologist,
Professor Dietrich Huff. The
excavations are being carried outas a salvage operation in order to save the
site, which is threatened by farmers who are cultivating
the lands beneath which most of the ancient city lies
buried.
Over
30 percent of the upper level of the city has been
flattened and its walls have been seriously damaged by
farmers’ activities over the centuries.
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