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LONDON, (CAIS) -- With identifying 9 other historical sites including satellite villages in the vicinity of Burnt City (Shahr-e Sukhteh), the number of satellite sites in this pre-historic site reached to 371. Every new discovery in this pre-historic site brings into light the cultural value and large extent of Burnt City which has been called as the paradise for archaeologists.

“Some renowned archaeologists such as Richard Frey, have called Iranian Sistan va Baluchestan province as paradise of archaeologists. Discovery of 371 historical sites, most of which belonging to prehistoric period, in the vicinity of the Burnt City, approves this statement,” said Alireza Khosravi, head of Research Centre of Burnt City.

According to Khosravi, until last year the number of Sistan va Baluchestan’s registered sites in list of Iran’s National Heritage sites were only 18, while today this number has increased to 400, 371 of which belong to historical and satellite sites in the vicinity of Burnt City. All these evidence show how vast the cultural extent of this historic site was in the ancient times.   

Regarding the importance of Burnt City historic site, Khosravi said: “The large number of historical sites in the vicinity of Burnt City indicates that this historic city was a cradle of civilization during prehistoric times and therefore it is worth to receive a special attention.”  

Khosravi further expressed hope that submitting the report of identifying these 371 historical sites to the registration council of Iran’s Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization (ICHTO) would automatically attract the attention of the authorities of the Organization towards the significance of this prehistoric site and the necessity for pursuing the excavations in this area in an attempt to find answers to many questions such as where the inhabitants of Burnt City migrated to when the city was abandoned.

Located 57 kilometres from Zabol in Sistan va Baluchestan province, southeastern Iran, Burnt City is one of the most important prehistoric sites in the country. The city covers an area of 150 hectares and was one of the largest cities in the world at the dawn of urban era. It was built around 3200 BC and was destroyed sometime around 2100 BCE. The city had four stages of civilization and was burnt down three times in the course of history, which is why it is called Burnt City in modern era.

It is not clear yet where the people of the Burnt City migrated to when the water of Hamun Lake dried up completely. However, based on recent excavations, traces of these tribes have been found in Taleb khan hill in Baluchestan during the first millennium BCE.

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