18 September 2009
LONDON, (CAIS) -- Recent activity near the Zarzian Period site of Zebarjad near Izeh in Khuzestan Province, in southwestern Iran has raised alarm for the cultural enthusiasts, as a group of people has began erecting walls around the ancient site, reported the Persian service of ISNA on Wednesday.
“With regard to the destruction of the historical Zebarjad mound [as the result of erecting a wall around the site], we have informed the Khuzestan Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organisation (KCHTO)”, said Faramarz Khushab, a member of Friends of Izeh’ Cultural Heritage Society (FICHS).
Khushab stated: “Society has warned the KCHTO about the destruction and the wall construction around the site. This is the beginning of a construction process over the site and [society] asked the organisation to stop them.”
He added “The erection of a wall [around the site] is the beginning of the construction over the mound, in which the KCHTO should intervene and prevent its destruction.”
The historical site of Zebarjad date to proto-Elamite period, which its archaeology expands to Zarzian Period (18,000-8,000 BCE). No methodical archaeological research has ever been carried out on the site.
The Zarzian Period is an archaeological culture of late Paleolithic and Mesolithic periods in Iran, Central Asia and Iraq. The Zarzian culture claimed to have participated in the early stages of ‘Broad Spectrum Revolution’ (BSR). The culture is found associated with remains of the domesticated dog and with the introduction of the bow and arrow. It seems to have extended north into the Kobystan region and into Eastern Iran as a forerunner of the Hissar and related cultures.
The historical mound is registered on Iran’s National Heritage List.
According to local folklore, the mound is called Zebarjad (meaning topaz), since in the past locals have found large numbers of the gemstones over and near the mound.
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