Bathhouse Excavation Discontinued

The newly discovered ancient structure in the vicinity of Golestan Palace in Tehran will be refilled with sand after documentation, as it is located in an urban area, an archeologist at the provincial office of Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization announced.

"Late last week, during works on wastewater network in Davar and Soor-e-Esrafil streets in the center of Tehran, an ancient structure was unearthed, which was initially thought to be a detached part of Golestan Palace," ISNA also quoted Morteza Adibzadeh as saying.

According to Adibzadeh, the structure is a small segment of a large bathhouse, which most probably stretches further beneath the palace and the neighboring buildings.

After days of field studies at the site, it turned out that the structure had nothing to do with the palace.

"Considering the structure's location, it is impossible to undertake detailed archeological studies and further excavation, because it will inconvenience the area's residents," he said.

The official said the evacuation of the area for further studies would have caused problems.

Reportedly, digging for plumbing operations has been temporarily stopped at the site. Archeologists are present at the site and will report the discovery of any other relic or structure.

Documentation and cartography will continue until the Research Institute of Cultural Heritage and Tourism decides that the collected data are sufficient.

Adibzadeh noted that the site will most likely be refilled with sand after field studies.