The News Section

LONDON, (CAIS) -- Historical petroglyphs recently discovered at a site near the town of Gotvand in Khuzestan Province are being threatened by giant excavating machines, reported the Persian service of Mehr News Agency on Saturday. 

About two weeks ago, members of the Khuzestan's Friends of the Cultural Heritage Association (TARIANA) and the Bum-o-Aftab Friends of the Cultural Heritage Society have discovered a number of sandstone rocks bearing eleven petroglyphs of ibex and human forms. 

Four other petroglyphs of ibex and human forms had been discovered by a cultural heritage expert at the site a year ago. 

The traffic of the excavator machines working for the Khuzestan Environment Department may cause destruction of the petroglyphs, Tariana spokesman Mojtaba Gahestuni said.

Tariana has officially warned the Khuzestan Environment Department and the Khuzestan Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Department about its fear of destruction of the artefacts.

However, they have not taken an action so far to halt the excavating at the site.

The date of the petroglyphs remains unknown as no research has ever carried out on them, however, the presentation of Ibex motif is quintessentially characteristic of Iranian art.