CAIS
The Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies
[ Home ]
[ About CAIS ]
[ Articles ]
[ Daily News ]
[ News Archive ]
[ Announcements ]
[ CAIS Seminars ]
[ Image Library ]
[ Copyright ]
[ Disclaimer ]
[ Submission ]
[ Search ]
[ Contact Us ]
[ Links ]
|
CAIS
NEWS © Latest
Archaeological and Cultural News of Iran and the Iranian World
|
|
5000-Years-Old Qare-Kand Site Flattened by the Islamic Republic Revolutionary Guards
|
|
01 March 2009 |
LONDON,
(CAIS) -- The Bronze Age sites of Qare-Kand has been
completely oblitrated due the construction of a military base by the Islamic
Republic’s Revolutionary Guards (IRRG) for the Basij Paramilitary Corp. in the
area. No action to stop this
cultural obliteration, was taken by the authorities at the Iran Cultural
Heritage, Handicraft and Tourism Organisation (ICHHTO), reported the Persian
service of CHN on Saturday.
The 5000-years-old Iranian site which was
considered as one of the most important Bronze Age Sites in northwestern
mainland Iran was registered on the Iranian National Heritage List (No 537). The
historical site is one of the villages in the town of Bukan on the way to
Mahabad, in West Azarbaijan Province. As the result of this destruction of
Iranian heritage, all the secrets and the archaeological data’s of the site,
which dates back from 4th millennium BCE to 1500 BCE have been lost
forever.
The construction of the military base
began over three years ago and despite the public outrage and constant
complaints from the Friends of Cultural Heritage, the ICHHTO’s authorities
chose to ignore them by not taking any action therefore the AGIR continued their
destruction of the site.
“Despite all the efforts by the Friends
of Cultural Heritage Society, the project began
and its’ destruction is a great shock to all of us, especially when we were
hearing constant insurances from the cultural authorities”, said Amir-Kadkhoda
Mohamadi, one of the executives of the Society of Friends of the Historical
Heritage (Izriyarto).
He added “our three years of continuous
efforts have been unfruitful because of the lack of support from ICHHTO. If we
had received any support from our cultural authorities, we today would not
witness this devastation.”
Mohamadi expressed his concerns and
concluded “we are not sure if the cultural heritage authorities want to take
this matter seriously, or will take appropriate actions to prevent future
construction over the historical and heritage sites.”
According to the report, Sardār-Aziz Khān
Fortress site, date back to 1st millennium BCE, is likely to be the
next victim with the same fate as Qare-Kand.
|
Original News bulletin published in Persian by CHN , and translated and modified by CAIS [*]
|
|
|
|
"History is the Light on the Path to Future" |
|
Encyclopaedia Iranica
The British Institute of Persian Studies "Persepolis Reconstructed"
The British Museum
The Royal Asiatic Society
|
