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 Following the discovery of 108 graves in
ancient site of Burnt City during the 9th season of
archaeological excavations in this historical site, five
other mass graves were found recently. Among these five
mass graves, three graves contained bodies of women, two
in each, who presumably died at the same time and were
buried together.
“One of these graves belongs to a mother embracing her
daughter. The other one contains two young 18 and 20
year-old girls who were buried together. The third grave
belongs to a 30 to 40 year-old woman and a 17 to 20 years
old girl,” said Farzad Forouzanfar, anthropologist who
is part of the excavation team of Burnt City.
According to Forouzanfar, the bodies of the two young
girls were buried in a deep grave in which three children
from one to six years of age were buried later. In the
grave of the mother and daughter, a young 20-25 year old
man was buried later as well.
Most of the women were buried in a squat position which
was most common in Burnt City at the time. Moreover, the
ancient custom of burying pottery and glass with the dead
as burial gifts can clearly be seen in almost all
discovered graves.
The first discovered mass grave in Burnt City’s cemetery
was that of two men which was found during last year’s
excavations in the area.
Burnt City, situated in Sistan va Baluchistan province in
southeast of Iran, has a cemetery with an area of 80
hectares which is considered one of the biggest historical
cemeteries of the country and dates back to the third
millennium BC. Valuable information about the culture and
beliefs of the inhabitants of this historical city has
been found during nine seasons of excavations. Different
methods of burial are one of the issues that have
attracted the attention of archaeologists during this
season of excavation.
Nine seasons of archaeological excavations in the site
indicate that Burnt City was an important center of
civilization and trade some 5,000 years ago. It is also one
of the most important pre-historic sites of the country.
Regarding the importance of this city and considering the
geographical extent of Hirmand civilization that lived
here in the past, Burnt City Research Center is determined
to transform this historical site into the first
international archaeological and anthropological research
center of eastern half of the Iranian plateau.
News
Source: Iran
Cultural Heritage News Agency
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