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.CAIS NEWS© ARCHAEOLOGICAL & CULTURAL NEWS OF THE IRANIAN WORLD |
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Number of Ancient Tombs in Lama Cemetery Reached 61
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17 January 2007 |
LONDON,
(CAIS) -- Archaeologists at the historic cemetery of Lamā in the Iranian
southwestern province of Kohkiloye va Boyer-Ahmad discovered eight new family
tombs, raising the total number of the discovered tombs in this cemetery to 61.
An
earthenware dish engraved with the design of a human figures, an earthen coffin,
a bronze sword, and a golden tassel are among some of the recent findings in
this historic graveyard.
Excavations
in Lama historic cemetery started in 1999 during the road construction. This
accidental discovery attracted the attention of archaeologists to this historic
site. Since then, archaeologists have carried out several seasons of excavations
in this historic cemetery during which several historic evidence and
archaeological artefacts were unearthed.
Regarding
the discovery of ancient tombs belonging to late second millennium to early
first millennium BCE, Hassan Rezvani, archaeologist and head of the excavation
team in Lama Cemetery, said: “The plans of the unearthed tombs are varies.
Although, most of them have a rectangular structure, their ceilings differ from
one another.”
According
to Rezvani, archaeologists have discovered four different types of tombs in this
historic cemetery but the majority of the discovered ones had mansard-like
roofs. In this method, a single stone slab was scraped to make a triangle. The
base of the triangle was then placed and secured on the stonewalls of the tomb
and the roof was covered with rubbles obtained from nearby rivers.
Archaeologists
also have discovered a number of oval-shape tombs with peaked roofs, most of
which belong to children.
“Some
other tombs with flat roofs have also been unearthed in Lama Cemetery in which
instead of the stones from the river, rubbles were used for construction of
walls and ceilings,” added Rezvani. He also said that a combination of the
above two methods was also seen in a few other tombs.
According to head of the team of archaeologists at Lama Cemetery, several large tombs, some of which are 5.5 meters in length, were found in this archaeological site in which diverse burial methods have been observed. However, he said that it is hard to tell which burial method prevails in this ancient cemetery, as the original form of the burials cannot be determined easily. However, it is believed that most of the skeletons were buried in a squat position.
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Extracted From/Source: Cultural Heritage News Agency (CHN) Please
note
the above-news is NOT a "copy & paste" version from
the mentioned-source. The news/article above has been modified with
the following interventions by CAIS: Spelling corrections;
-Rectification and correction of the historical facts and data; -
Providing additional historical information within the text; -Removing any
unnecessary, irrelevant & repetitive information. All these measures have been taken in order to ensure that the published news provided by CAIS is coherent, transparent, accurate and suitable for academics and cultural enthusiasts who visit the CAIS website.
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"History is the Light on the Path to Future" |
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Encyclopaedia Iranica
The British Institute of Persian Studies "Persepolis Reconstructed"
The British Museum
The Royal Asiatic Society
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