A marble vase and some architectural structures were discovered in the Burnt City, an archaeological site of a Bronze Age settlement in Sistan-Baluchestan, IRNA quoted head of the archaeology team at the site, Seyed Mansur Seyed Sajadi as saying.
During the 14th exploration season in the Burnt City (Persian: Shahr-Sukhte), a beautiful marble vase was discovered in a grave belonging to a 30-year woman and her child. The vase is like no other found in the site, he said.
With a view to understanding the urban development and architecture of the ancient era, the exploration takes into account the funeral ceremonies, anthropological aspects, pathological studies on the human remains and grave soils, cataloging organic materials, and analysis of statistical data. In result, a more comprehensive database has been obtained on the Burnt City, Seyed Sajadi said.
In Workshop 23, a great number of seal fragments were discovered. “Studies on the fragments will reveal some facts about the business and trading affairs in the days bygone.
In Workshop 24, located to the northwest of the eastern residential area, an architectural complex was discovered, including walls, a U-shaped stove, and a number of other adjoined structures. The complex showed 2 settlement layers.
In Workshop 25, located to the northwest of the central residential area, a number of architectural structures were discovered, including floors, walls, and various rooms.
The most noticeable architectural discovery was 2 parallel east-west walls, 3.5 meters apart, which stretched 50 meters. The walls, reinforced in parts, are other unique features of the site. At one meter thickness, they are heavily coated with clay dating to the last settlement of the city. The large, thick walls seem to be parts of a public building, and needs extensive research to be fully explored.
About 600 sq meters of the residential area is currently under excavation; 58 graves and 58 skeletons were found, along with 262 artifacts. The body of a baby was discovered in a woolen jacket, with a fine necklace of bone beads around the child’s neck. A gunmetal mirror, a collyrium box, and a number of colorful vessels were unearthed from the women’s graves.
Some specimens of teeth will be examined for genetic info and dietary habits of the ancient residents, Seyed Sajadi added.
The last exploration season revealed that there were industrial workshops of jewelry and pottery active in the Burnt City, and that they used trees available in the vicinity as fuel.
