Shahr-i Sokhta or Shahr-e Sukhteh/شهر سوخته (literally Burnt City) is a Bronze Age urban settlement in the southeast of Iran, in Sistan. Shar-e Sukhteh is located on the bank of the Helmand River and beside the Zahedan-Zabol road.
The oldest known backgammon ,oldest known caraway seed and the oldest known animation together with numerous metallurgical finds (e.g. slag and crucible pieces) are among the finds which have been unearthed by archaeological excavations from this site. The site has been excavated by Italian and Iranian archaeological teams in 70's and 80's.
Oldest Animation
First Animation of the World Found In Burnt City, Iran
An animated piece on an earthen goblet that belongs to 5000 years ago was found in Burnt City in Sistan-Baluchistan province, southeastern Iran. On this ancient piece that can be called the first animation of the world, the artist has portrayed a goat that jumps toward a tree and eats its leaves. The earthenware found in Burnt City, one of the most developed civilizations dating back to 5000 years ago, show the images of goat and fish more than any other subject. It seems these animals were used more than any other by the people of this city.On this goblet, with a diameter of 8 cm and height of 10 cm, the images show movement in an intricate way that is an unprecedented discovery. Some earthenware found in Burnt City show repetitive images, but none of them implicate any movements.
"While excavating the grave in which the cream-colored goblet has been found, we came across a skeleton that probably belongs to the creator of this piece", Mansour Sajjadi, the Iranian archeologist responsible for excavations in Burnt City told CHN.
The archeologists have managed to make an animated piece on the basis of these images in the form of a 20-second film.
After 8 seasons of research in Burnt City, this 5000-year-old site dating back to 2nd or 3rd century BC still holds many secrets within. Burnt City was civilized and developed, and cherished very important ancient crafts including jewelry making and pottery.
Oldest Backgammon
The oldest backgammon in the world along with 60 pieces has been unearthed beneath the rubbles of the legendary Burnt City (Shahr-i Sokhta) in Sistan-Baluchistan province, southeastern Iran.
Iranian archeologists working on the relics of the 5,000-year-old civilization argue this backgammon is much older than the one already discovered in Mesopotamia and their evidence is strong enough to claim the board game was first played in the Burnt City and then transferred to other civilizations.
"The board is rectangular and made of ebony, which did not grow in Sistan and merchants used to import it from India." the board features an engraved serpent coiling around itself for 20 times, thus producing 20 slots for the game, more affectionately known in Persian as Takhte Nard. The engraving, artistically done, indicates artisans in the Burnt City were masters of the craft. "The 60 pieces were also unearthed inside a terracotta vessel beside the board. They were made of common stones quarried in the city, including agate and turquoise.
Experts still wonder why they played the game with 60 pieces and are trying to discern its rules, but it at least shows it is 100-200 years older than the one discovered in Mesopotamia.
They are also intrigued that inhabitants of ancient civilizations, widely believed to be concerned with their daily survival, could afford to indulge in such luxuries as playing board games.
LONDON, (CAIS) -- With discovering and documenting some 130 historical sites including satellite villages in the archeological site of Burnt City within only 6 months, archeologists of the Cultural Heritage Center of Burnt City have surpassed all the previous records in identifying and registering archeological sites in Iran.
“Discovery and registration of 130 historical sites within 6 months of archeological excavations in Burnt City indicates that almost every day one discovery has been made and announced to be registered in the list of Iran’s National Heritage, something which is absolutely unprecedented in the history of archeological excavations in Iran and should be registered as a successful record for Iran’s Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization (ICHTO),” said Alireza Khosravi, head of Cultural Heritage Center of Burnt City.
Khosravi also announced that experts are currently working on preparing a map on which distribution of archeological sites in Sistan Plain is pinned down as well as a digital map from the area.
According to Khosravi, this project aims to highlight the tourism potentials of the region through identifying and documenting the historical sites that exist in the area. It also intends to introduce the unique archeological features of the Sistan Plain and the rich civilization and cultural values of Burnt City, southeast Iran, and to reveal some unknown aspects of this historical site.
Prior to this, some 137 historical hills had been identified by this Center in the vicinity of Burnt City historical site. Archeologists believed that most probably these hills were settled by the Burnt City inhabitants during the ancient times. The discovered historical sites are located 6-8 kilometers from the Burnt City and some cultural evidence such as broken clays similar to those discovered in Burnt City have been unearthed in these hills.
Located 57 kilometers from the city of Zabol in Sistan va Baluchestan province, southeast Iran, the Burnt City covers an area of 150 hectares and was one of the world’s largest cities at the dawn of the urban era. It was built around 3200 BCE and was destroyed some time around 2100 BCE. The city had four stages of civilization and was burnt down three times, which is why it is called Burnt City (Shahr-e Sukhteh in Persian).
Toward the end of the second millennium BCE, Burnt City came to a cultural standstill; and archeological evidence shows that this ancient civilization of the eastern plateau of Iran somehow vanished from the face of the earth at the beginning of the first millennium BCE.
According to Khosravi, archeologists are determined to trace the settlement area of human beings during the latest periods of settlement in Burnt City which coincided with the dawn of civilization in eastern half of the Iranian Plateau. Comparing and studying the discovered cultural evidence such as earthenware remains scattered in the region in different areas from the basin of Hirmand River to the satellite villages as well as identifying the location of the settlement areas in other parts of Sistan Plain where life existed at a time Burnt City was still alive and discovering the process of development of the art of pottery-making in Sistan Plain and finding the trend of civilization in the region are the other objectives behind this year’s archeological excavations in the vicinity of Burnt City.
Although 9 seasons of archeological excavations have been carried out on the Burnt City so far, there are still many questions remained unanswered about the ethnicity and language of its inhabitants. Moreover, archeologists have not yet figured out what happened to the people of the region and where they migrated to after they abandoned their city.
Excavation on the Burnt City was initiated in 1967 when Professor Maurizzio Tosi, Italian archeologists and his colleagues joined Iranian archeologists. Later, in 1988-89, excavations were resumed by Dr. Sajjadi under the auspices of Iran’s Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization. The outcome of the research has been published in 170 books and papers so far in Persian, English, Italian, Japanese, German, and Spanish languages.
According to excavations and researches, the Burnt City has come to be known as one of the most important proofs for the independence of the eastern part of Iran from Mesopotamia. Based on the discovered historical relics such as rope, basket, cloth, wooden objects, fingernail and hair, weaving equipment such as hooks, shoe lace, human and animal statuettes seldom unearthed in other archeological sites so far, archeologists have concluded that Burnt City was the most significant center of settlement and in fact the whole region’s social, economic, political and cultural center during the 3rd and 2nd millennia BCE.
One of the prominent ancient relics found in the Burnt City is a skull that anthropologists believe might have been the first evidence of brain surgeries in prehistoric Iran. The skull was found in a mass grave in 1978 during excavations by the Italian team, lead by Maurizzio Tosi.
Results of 10 years of excavations in the historical site of Burnt City are to be published in a book in which major archeological findings in this historical site will be documented.
“Discovery and registration of 130 historical sites within 6 months of archeological excavations in Burnt City indicates that almost every day one discovery has been made and announced to be registered in the list of Iran’s National Heritage, something which is absolutely unprecedented in the history of archeological excavations in Iran and should be registered as a successful record for Iran’s Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization (ICHTO),” said Alireza Khosravi, head of Cultural Heritage Center of Burnt City.
Khosravi also announced that experts are currently working on preparing a map on which distribution of archeological sites in Sistan Plain is pinned down as well as a digital map from the area.
According to Khosravi, this project aims to highlight the tourism potentials of the region through identifying and documenting the historical sites that exist in the area. It also intends to introduce the unique archeological features of the Sistan Plain and the rich civilization and cultural values of Burnt City, southeast Iran, and to reveal some unknown aspects of this historical site.
Prior to this, some 137 historical hills had been identified by this Center in the vicinity of Burnt City historical site. Archeologists believed that most probably these hills were settled by the Burnt City inhabitants during the ancient times. The discovered historical sites are located 6-8 kilometers from the Burnt City and some cultural evidence such as broken clays similar to those discovered in Burnt City have been unearthed in these hills.
Located 57 kilometers from the city of Zabol in Sistan va Baluchestan province, southeast Iran, the Burnt City covers an area of 150 hectares and was one of the world’s largest cities at the dawn of the urban era. It was built around 3200 BCE and was destroyed some time around 2100 BCE. The city had four stages of civilization and was burnt down three times, which is why it is called Burnt City (Shahr-e Sukhteh in Persian).
Toward the end of the second millennium BCE, Burnt City came to a cultural standstill; and archeological evidence shows that this ancient civilization of the eastern plateau of Iran somehow vanished from the face of the earth at the beginning of the first millennium BCE.
According to Khosravi, archeologists are determined to trace the settlement area of human beings during the latest periods of settlement in Burnt City which coincided with the dawn of civilization in eastern half of the Iranian Plateau. Comparing and studying the discovered cultural evidence such as earthenware remains scattered in the region in different areas from the basin of Hirmand River to the satellite villages as well as identifying the location of the settlement areas in other parts of Sistan Plain where life existed at a time Burnt City was still alive and discovering the process of development of the art of pottery-making in Sistan Plain and finding the trend of civilization in the region are the other objectives behind this year’s archeological excavations in the vicinity of Burnt City.
Although 9 seasons of archeological excavations have been carried out on the Burnt City so far, there are still many questions remained unanswered about the ethnicity and language of its inhabitants. Moreover, archeologists have not yet figured out what happened to the people of the region and where they migrated to after they abandoned their city.
Excavation on the Burnt City was initiated in 1967 when Professor Maurizzio Tosi, Italian archeologists and his colleagues joined Iranian archeologists. Later, in 1988-89, excavations were resumed by Dr. Sajjadi under the auspices of Iran’s Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization. The outcome of the research has been published in 170 books and papers so far in Persian, English, Italian, Japanese, German, and Spanish languages.
According to excavations and researches, the Burnt City has come to be known as one of the most important proofs for the independence of the eastern part of Iran from Mesopotamia. Based on the discovered historical relics such as rope, basket, cloth, wooden objects, fingernail and hair, weaving equipment such as hooks, shoe lace, human and animal statuettes seldom unearthed in other archeological sites so far, archeologists have concluded that Burnt City was the most significant center of settlement and in fact the whole region’s social, economic, political and cultural center during the 3rd and 2nd millennia BCE.
One of the prominent ancient relics found in the Burnt City is a skull that anthropologists believe might have been the first evidence of brain surgeries in prehistoric Iran. The skull was found in a mass grave in 1978 during excavations by the Italian team, lead by Maurizzio Tosi.
Results of 10 years of excavations in the historical site of Burnt City are to be published in a book in which major archeological findings in this historical site will be documented.
The Burnt City, a Great Civilization in a Small Desert
Abstract: The Burnt City in eastern Iran dates back to 5,000 years ago and is spread in an area of 150 hectares. In its life span of 1100 years, the Burnt City has been witness to four civilization eras. It was unearthed in the year 1915.
The area, 56 km from the city of Zabol in Sistan-Baluchestan Province, is the place that is known by some local people as the "region of bandits" but in fact far from any wickedness, it is the place where our past history has taken shape. The place is the "Burnt City", a land that has come from 5000-years ago, and has opened up its secrets to archaeologists to enable them to reveal its magnificence to the contemporary generation.
Thousands of years ago some people used to live on this desert land and its hot soil that is hard to bear today, who had thei
r own civilization and architectural style, the remains of which that had once been buried under the layers of soil have now been pulled out of the ancient hills of the region.The entire vast desert is filled with fragments of clay works spread all over the area. However, we were not able to inspect the entire region due to the hot weather and wind.
"With every step that we took the soil under our feet moved aside, revealing more fragments of clay works. We were told that after each rain the earth will be washed away and fragments will come out to the surface and that the more fragments they collect the generous land will give them more pieces of the precious gifts. The moment we touched the clay fragments that were buried under the soil we sensed a strange feeling that reminded us of our Oriental background and this feeling made us to search for our lost identity within the Burnt City" (Dr. Mansour Seyed Sajjadi, an archaeologist who has for years made research works in the Burnt City).
"The Burnt City with a span of 150 hectares of land is the largest areas in the Middle East dating back to the Brass Age. It was founded in 3200 BCE and was ruined in 2100 BCE and in the course of its 1100-year life was witness to four civilization eras. It was burnt for three times and completely ruined in the third fire. That is the reason as to why the city is called the "Burnt City".
So far, no one has found out the real name of the city and only in the case that archaeologists gain access to the historical record of the ancient city, it would be possible to find out the real name of the city by reading the unearthed manuscripts.
The available evidences indicate that the Burnt City was first discovered by British scholar Orwell Stein in the year 1915 and later in the 1960s, a team from the Italian institute for the Middle East and Oriental studies launched archeological excavations with the cooperation of the Archeology General Department in a period between 1967 to 1978.
With the discovery of 250 graves, the team collected interesting valuable information. However, excavations were halted in the ancient area from 1978 for a period of 18 years but archeological activities once again resumed in the area in 1997.
Dr. Sajjadi, whose abundant love for the ancient region is hard to be estimated, was greatly cautious lest anybody might damage the newly repaired walls of the invaluable historical heritage by walking on it.
The world's oldest and the first animation picture found in Burnt city
He believed that the Burnt City is a big laboratory in the heart of the desert that has housed various sectors such as residential quarters, historical monuments, graveyards and industrial units. Given that so far no defensive fortress or walls have been discovered in the Burnt City, archaeologists believe that the inhabitants of the city were all peace-loving and calm people who lived a peaceful life in the absence of any boundaries and without getting involved in any war or confrontation.
Studies show that in the early stage of their settlement in the region (3200 to 2800 BCE) the people of the Burnt City had established contacts and entered into transactions with the people in the Eastern and North-Eastern parts of the Greater Iran, the Central Asia and Quetta (in what is today known as Pakistan's Baluchistan).
Dr. Sajjadi, the expert archaeologist of the Burnt City, says that in the second phase of their settlement (2800 to 2500 BCE) the people halted their contacts with Khuzestan but preserved their ties with Central Asia. Seals that have been discovered in the Burnt City, Mishmahig (Bahrain), Kuwait and southern Khvarvaran (Iraq) lend further proof to such a theory.
The world's first mesurment found in Burnt city ( Ruller )
In the third phase (2500 to 2300 BCE) and even in the fourth phase (2300 to 2100 BCE) the inhabitants of the Burnt City had contacts with northern and eastern areas but gradually lowered the level of their relationship.
The archaeologist further opines that the Burnt City was the center of a civilization known as "Civilization of the Hirmand River Zone" that served as the capital of the civilizations that existed 5000 years ago.
However, due to the displacement and drying up of the Hirmand River's delta, living in the region lost its charm. It is said that the Burnt City had about 70 villages that were highly active in agriculture and production of clay works.
In the course of the 2001 archeological excavations in the area, over one ton of clay objects were collected from inside the graves and in architectural environments. The number of objects discovered from the historical site is out of estimation. It was very hard to make further comments on the people who lived in the Burnt City when we heard that objects, including 12 patterns of fabrics in different colors have been discovered in the area as well as
inlaid works dating back to 5000 years ago.
The efficiency, knowledge and state-of-the-art deployed by those people leaves no room for any judgment. We were told there that the oldest sample of surgery on human's skull was carried out on a 13-year-old girl suffering from hydrocephalic. The skull is due to be displayed at the first medical history museum of Iran.
Apparently, the major part of the information has been obtained from graves that have
been unearthed in the course of excavation operations.
"We then slowly proceeded towards the graveyard section as if our steps would disturb the sleeping ancestors. The graveyard sector was expanded in an area of 20 hectares of the dead land", according to Dr. Sajjadi.
The graveyard embraces about 40,000 graves of which only 134 graves have been excavated in the course of four operational seasons and 158 skeletons have been discovered out of them of which about 120 samples have undergone anthropological studies.
Research studies show that due to the hard labor, men and women who lived in the Burnt City had short span of life to the extent that men died at the age of 26 to 53 and women at 26 to 46. On the other hand, archaeologists evaluate these graves as data banks through which they can find out the style of living, beliefs and professionals of their ancestors.
Findings obtained in the course of four archeological seasons in the Burnt City indicate that the people of the Burnt City had veteran jeweler, painters, shepherds, farmers, weavers and craftsmen among them.
Samples of the precious stones cut in that period, some with less than a millimeter thickness further reveals the delicacy of the art of jewelry at that time.
Archaeologists have also found remains of paints in a number of pots indicating that artists of that time used to paint clay pots. Elaborating on the people's belief in that era for putting pots inside the grave and beside the buried body, the archaeologist said the inhabitants of the Burnt City believed in the postmortem life and thus viewed death as a temporary sleep that would come to end one day. Therefore, they used to place dishes, water and all the basic requirements in the graves so that on the resurrection day they would be used when the dead body will be awakened again.
Dr. Sajjadi also points out that some cloves of garlic have been found in a number of graves, adding that in some countries in southern Europe and certain Indo-European tribes it is believed that garlic will expel the wicked spirits out of their homes. Therefore, it is also believed that people who lived in the Burnt City put cloves of garlic inside the graves for the same reason and in order to keep evil away from the dead body. He said that the evidence found in one of the graves attested to the commitment of a murder as the head of the dead body together with the deadly weapon had been placed underneath his feet.
Despite the invaluable information that archaeologists have obtained out of the graves in the Burnt City, however, Dr. Sajjadi believes that until the time that 1,000 graves have not been examined no one can express his idea definitely and all comments are based on assumptions. According to him, by the deployment of the present technology it takes 150 years to scientifically to excavate the area. In fact, no end could be speculated to that ancient realm as it was spread in a span of 150 hectares.
"We were curious to find out what happened to the people in the last fire of the city and in the aftermath of the drying of the Hirmand River's Delta and that where we could find their traces following their migration from the Burnt City". According to Dr. Sajjadi, after migrating from the Burnt City, the people had apparently settled in regions on the other side of the borders.
He says that there is no trace of them after 2100 to 2000 BCE because no scientific research work has been conducted in this regard. The more we gathered information about the Burnt City and its people the heavier became our grief.
In the third phase (2500 to 2300 BCE) and even in the fourth phase (2300 to 2100 BCE) the inhabitants of the Burnt City had contacts with northern and eastern areas but gradually lowered the level of their relationship.
The archaeologist further opines that the Burnt City was the center of a civilization known as "Civilization of the Hirmand River Zone" that served as the capital of the civilizations that existed 5000 years ago.
However, due to the displacement and drying up of the Hirmand River's delta, living in the region lost its charm. It is said that the Burnt City had about 70 villages that were highly active in agriculture and production of clay works.
In the course of the 2001 archeological excavations in the area, over one ton of clay objects were collected from inside the graves and in architectural environments. The number of objects discovered from the historical site is out of estimation. It was very hard to make further comments on the people who lived in the Burnt City when we heard that objects, including 12 patterns of fabrics in different colors have been discovered in the area as well as
inlaid works dating back to 5000 years ago.The efficiency, knowledge and state-of-the-art deployed by those people leaves no room for any judgment. We were told there that the oldest sample of surgery on human's skull was carried out on a 13-year-old girl suffering from hydrocephalic. The skull is due to be displayed at the first medical history museum of Iran.
Apparently, the major part of the information has been obtained from graves that have
been unearthed in the course of excavation operations."We then slowly proceeded towards the graveyard section as if our steps would disturb the sleeping ancestors. The graveyard sector was expanded in an area of 20 hectares of the dead land", according to Dr. Sajjadi.
The graveyard embraces about 40,000 graves of which only 134 graves have been excavated in the course of four operational seasons and 158 skeletons have been discovered out of them of which about 120 samples have undergone anthropological studies.
Research studies show that due to the hard labor, men and women who lived in the Burnt City had short span of life to the extent that men died at the age of 26 to 53 and women at 26 to 46. On the other hand, archaeologists evaluate these graves as data banks through which they can find out the style of living, beliefs and professionals of their ancestors.
Findings obtained in the course of four archeological seasons in the Burnt City indicate that the people of the Burnt City had veteran jeweler, painters, shepherds, farmers, weavers and craftsmen among them.
Samples of the precious stones cut in that period, some with less than a millimeter thickness further reveals the delicacy of the art of jewelry at that time.
Archaeologists have also found remains of paints in a number of pots indicating that artists of that time used to paint clay pots. Elaborating on the people's belief in that era for putting pots inside the grave and beside the buried body, the archaeologist said the inhabitants of the Burnt City believed in the postmortem life and thus viewed death as a temporary sleep that would come to end one day. Therefore, they used to place dishes, water and all the basic requirements in the graves so that on the resurrection day they would be used when the dead body will be awakened again.
Dr. Sajjadi also points out that some cloves of garlic have been found in a number of graves, adding that in some countries in southern Europe and certain Indo-European tribes it is believed that garlic will expel the wicked spirits out of their homes. Therefore, it is also believed that people who lived in the Burnt City put cloves of garlic inside the graves for the same reason and in order to keep evil away from the dead body. He said that the evidence found in one of the graves attested to the commitment of a murder as the head of the dead body together with the deadly weapon had been placed underneath his feet.
Despite the invaluable information that archaeologists have obtained out of the graves in the Burnt City, however, Dr. Sajjadi believes that until the time that 1,000 graves have not been examined no one can express his idea definitely and all comments are based on assumptions. According to him, by the deployment of the present technology it takes 150 years to scientifically to excavate the area. In fact, no end could be speculated to that ancient realm as it was spread in a span of 150 hectares.
"We were curious to find out what happened to the people in the last fire of the city and in the aftermath of the drying of the Hirmand River's Delta and that where we could find their traces following their migration from the Burnt City". According to Dr. Sajjadi, after migrating from the Burnt City, the people had apparently settled in regions on the other side of the borders.
He says that there is no trace of them after 2100 to 2000 BCE because no scientific research work has been conducted in this regard. The more we gathered information about the Burnt City and its people the heavier became our grief.
