Burnt City artifacts classified

The classification was carried out by a joint team of Italian-Iranian experts led by Iranian archaeologist Mansur Sajjadi over the 12th season of excavation that began in late December 2008. 

This season was more focused on classification of those artifacts discovered in the BurntCity so far, Sajjadi told the Persian service of CHN on Tuesday.

“Classifying the artifacts was very essential for us… so they were categorized as pottery works, metal artifacts, tiny relics, human remains, animal remains, and fabrics,” he explained.

“The fabrics comprise ropes, cloths, and wickerworks. The classification of the fabrics was very important because they were in danger and in poor condition.

“The fabrics are currently kept in special cases and have been provided with cards bearing information about the objects.”

Similar steps have been taken for the animal remains, which are to be studied by archaezoologists in early April.

Additional excavations were also carried out in the Burnt City during the 12th season of studies.

“Three trenches were dug at the cemetery of the site, in which 52 skeletons were discovered. Some small digs were also carried out in the public areas of the city,” Sajjadi said.

“Cloths, fabrics, and seal prints are still found in the areas. The seals have usually been applied beside doors of rooms used as storehouses. As yet, the rooms’ earthen floors have not been analyzed so we don’t know what was stored there. However, we surmise that most of the rooms were used as silos,” he added.

The seals’ prints are to be examined in one of upcoming seasons of studies on the BurntCity’s artifacts.

Due to the large quantity of cloth pieces and ropes discovered in the areas, archaeologists surmise that some of the sites were likely used as spinning workshops.

“We are confronted with a vast array of colorful cloths bearing outstanding button-shaped designs which have been printed with a precise distance from each other,” Sajjadi stated.

The rest of the discoveries of the 12th season of excavation refer to human and animal skeletons.

The Burnt City is located 57 kilometers from the city of Zabol in Iran’s Sistan-BaluchestanProvince.