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LONDON, (CAIS) -- The historical city of Ejdeha-Dashi (eždehā dāšī), in East Azarbaijan province, which dates back to the first millennium BCE, has fallen victim of the operations by Islamic Regime' Petroleum Ministry trying to establish gas transport infrastructures through installing gas pipes which are intended to transfer gas from Iran to the Armenia. Some parts of this ancient city have been destroyed despite previous warnings by Iran’s Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization (ICHTO), yet the operation has not been stopped.

“In order to transfer gas from Iran to Armenia, a station is supposed to be established in East Azarbaijan province. Since the path of the pipeline suggested by the Petroleum Organization for this project is located in a historical area, the project was not approved by ICHTO. However, despite ICHTO’s objections and previous warnings, Iran’s Petroleum Company started its operation on 16th of July 2006 by digging the ground to the depth of 4 meters in an 80 x 7 square meter area which has led into destruction of some parts of the 3000-year-old Ejdeha Dashi city. This is while, ICHTO had suggested an alternative path to the Petroleum Company to install this pipeline in, which would have cause least harm to this historical site,” said Mohammad Feizkhah, archeologist from the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Department of East Azarbaijan.

The suggested path by ICHTO is situated 2 kilometers east of Ejdeha Dashi historical city and in addition to saving this historical site, it would prevent damages to the ecosystem of the area as well.

According to Feizkhah, no excavations have been carried out in this historical city yet and archeological studies in this area may reveal some invaluable historical evidence.

He also mentioned that despite the exiting legal regulations passed by the government for preserving historical sites, most of the destructions in East Azarbaijan province are caused by the activities of the governmental organizations!

Regarding the remaining evidence in Ejdeha Dashi, Feizkhah explained: “Although a large amount of surface evidence has been destroyed due to agricultural activities, the remains of the internal walls of a fortress can still be seen in this area. There are also some ancient graves and surface earthenware which have not been fully studied or collected yet. The existing historical remains in the area indicate that this archeological site dates back to the first millennium BCE to the Iron Age III (800-600 BCE).”

Having some 30 hectare area, this historical city consists of three main parts including a fortress or the king area which was the most important part of the city, a cemetery which is located in the vicinity of the fortress, and the settlement area which was located in the surrounding slopes.

According to Feizkhah, destruction of an ancient cemetery by Petroleum Ministry is not the first unacceptable act by this organization during the recent months. “We had asked the Organization to give us reasons for destroying this cemetery, but it simply denied the case. However, we are following the case through the law department of ICHTO, making use of the existing evidence,” added Feizkhah.

Considering that Iran has a very ancient civilization, many of the development projects will result in destruction of her heritage. It seems that lack of appropriate coordination between different organizations and despise towards anything Pre-Islamic Iranian have worsened the situation. 

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