New discoveries at Tappeh Sabz (‘green hill’) have been made, which date back to the Achaemenid era, exploration team director, Noruz Rajabi said, CHTN reported.
The findings indicate continuous human settlement on Tappeh Sabz. The hill, which also goes by the name of Tel Qaleh is located in Marvdasht plain in Fars Province.
Tappeh Sabz is a large, squat mound, measuring 120 by 140 meters; it was originally square-shaped, but nearly on- third of it has been eroded. The ancient mound is located within the Kor River basin, and comprises 10.5 meters of cultural deposits, 7 meters of which stand above the current plain surface. Four phases of settlement have been identified, one is a prehistoric settlement that goes far earlier than Proto-Elamite Era.
Unsolved puzzle
There are still missing pieces of the puzzle with the Kor River basin pre-Achaemenid settlements, which has beckoned excavators over once more. This round of excavations will involve delimitation, layer sampling, and ascertaining the approximate chronology of the settlements on the Tappeh Sabz archaeological site.
The archaeology team from Marvdasht Azad University will continue exploring the site until late October.
The team is assisted by the Persepolis World Heritage Center and Archaeology Institute, under the supervision of Marvdasht Cultural Heritage Organization.
Tappeh Sabz was registered on the national heritage list in 2004. It is 3 km from where the Kor and Sivand rivers meet.
Kor is the most important river of Maharloo-Bakhtegan basin covering an area of about 31,874 million sq meters, which is 25% of the total area of Fars province.
Kor’s important role
Kor River has played an important role in agro-economy and people’s livelihood in the basin.
Most of the artifacts unearthed during previous rounds of excavations from the southern bank of the Kor River date back to the Sassanid Dynasty (224-651 CE) and post-Sassanid eras.
