Discovery of Twelve 5,000-Years-Old Iron Forges in Bandar Lengeh - CAIS Archaeological & Cultural News of Iranian World©

LONDON, (CAIS) -- Archeological excavations in Bandar Lengeh in Hormozgan province led to the discovery of 12 forges similar to those which had already been discovered in Iran’s Central Plateau especially in Kerman and Yazd provinces. The discovered forges in the Central Plateau belong to the third to first millennium BCE and the beginning of urbanization. However, so far archeologists have not been so successful in determining the exact age of these new discovered ones. Considering that urbanization started from the third millennium BCE in Kerman province, archeologists are hoping to trace the starting point of urbanization in Lengeh as well.

“The excavations in the eastern parts of Lengeh Port resulted in discovery of 12 iron forges similar to those already found in abundance in Kerman, Yazd, and Shahrud. The discovered copper forges in Kerman and Yazd provinces date back to the third to first millennium BCE. But we still need to find more clay remains and cultural evidence to determine the exact date of these discovered forges in Lengeh,” said Davud Abian, head of archeology excavation team in Lengeh Port.

Based on the archeological studies, during the third millennium BCE when urbanization gradually came into existence in the Central Plateau of Iran, the civilization of Halil Rud (Jiroft) was spread to Kahnouj and Jazmourian regions. On the other hand, the culture of Hirmand civilization was stretched between Zabul in Sistan va Baluchistan province and Kabul in Afghanistan and continued to Sind River in Pakistan.

Also from the west side, the Burnt City had somehow connected through Jiroft’s civilization to the civilizations formed in Khuzestan, Mesopotamia, and regions of West Asia

Now with this new discovery in Lengh Port, archeologists believe that evidence of Halil Rud civilization in Jiroft can be traced in Lengeh Port and this way the lost chain of the relations between the civilizations of the southeast with those of the west of Iran would be found.

Considering the importance of shipping during the Achaemenid dynastic era, archeologists are looking to find traces of the Achaemenid and Sasanid periods in Lengeh Port.

Bandar-e-Lengeh (Lengeh port) coastal zone is part of the Persian Gulf and is located about 220 kilometers west of Bandar Abbas in Hormozgan province, southern Iran.