Looking for Evidence of Pre-Islamic Khamir Port in Persian Gulf - Archaeological and Cultural News of the Iranian World

LONDON, (CAIS) -- Archeologists of the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Department of the southern Iranian province of Hormozgan are to start excavations in Khamir Port while keeping an eye on cultural and historical evidence from Halil Rud civilization.

Halil Rud is an ancient site located on the basin of a river by the same name in present-day Kerman province with evidence going as far back as the third millennium BCE. Numerous cultural evidence including stone and clay objects and architectural remains belonging to the third millennium BCE unearthed during the archeological excavations as well as the illegal diggings of the smugglers point to the rich civilization which populated the area some 5000 year ago.

The province of Hormozgan borders Kerman from northwest all the way to the southeast. The civilization that lived beside this river is believed to be one of the most ancient ones in the world and archeologists are now determined to find indications of the influence of Halil Rud culture on other regional civilizations that arose afterwards.

In an interview with CHN, Abbas Norouzi, an archeologist from the Hormozgan’s Cultural Heritage and Tourism Department, said that one of the main objectives behind this season of excavations in Khamir Port is to find the extent of Halil Rud civilization in the eastern and northern parts of Hormozgan.

He also said that archeologists are determined to identify the earliest dwellings in the region as well as the reason this part of Hormozgan was chosen by its ancient inhabitants as their permanent settlement. “Considering that Khamir is a seaport, we are seeking to find whether or not it was used as a commercial center during different periods of time like other ports in the region,” added Norouzi.

Archeologists are also determined to find the areas with higher population concentration during pre and Islamic era in Khamir Port. They are expecting to find traces of civilizations which inhabited this region prior to the beginning of the post-Sasanian in Iran; that is before 651 CE.

Halil Rud historical site, located near the city of Jiroft in Kerman Province, was one of the first places where civilization and urbanization were established. Studies on this historical site indicate that the region was the commercial link between Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and countries of the Persian Gulf region some 5000 years ago. Commercial interactions between the inhabitants of this area with other countries were mainly through the southern waters of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman. This indicates that the Halil Rud culture was spread beyond the borders of today’s Kerman province, making archeologists believe that they can find more traces of this ancient culture in the southern province of Hormozgan.

Extracted From/Source: Cultural Heritage News Agency (CHN)

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