Tappeh Sialk

Sialk is a large ancient archeological site near Kashan,
Iran, tucked away in the suburbs of the city of Kashan, in central Iran, close to Fin Garden. The culture that inhabited this area has been linked to the Zayandeh Rud Civilization. [CHN report: "Zayandeh Rood Civilization Linked to Marvdasht and Sialk". Accessed Jan 30, 2007. Link: [http://www.chnpress.com/news/?section=2&id=5530] ]

The Sialk ziggurat has 3 platforms, and was built ca. 2900 BC. However, the earliest archeological remains of the north mound date back to the middle of the 6th millennium BC; i.e. about 7,500 years ago. A joint study between Iran's Cultural Heritage Organization, The Louvre, and Institute Francais de Recherche en Iran also verifies the oldest settlements in Sialk to date back to 5500–6000 BC.

Sialk is one of four ziggurats built by the Elamite civilization. The other three are Chogha Zanbil (1250 BC), the Susa ziggurat (1800 BC), and Haft Tepe [ [http://www.hafttappeh.ir/ Haft Tappeh ] ] (1375 BC), all in Khuzestan. Sialk is the 32nd and most recent ziggurat to be discovered.

What remains of this 5000-year-old ziggurat is not in a favorable condition like many other ancient ruins in Iran. [CHN report: "Illegal Constructions Put World Registration of Sialk at Risk". Accessed Jan 30, 2007. Link: [http://www.chnpress.com/news/?section=2&id=6534] ] At the site, there are actually two structures (necropolis) at Sialk situated several hundred feet from each other. The three platforms of the larger ziggurat however still remain in place. Not much remains of the smaller structure. The Louvre has also excavated a cemetery near the structures that have been dated as far back as 7,500 years. [CHN report: "Sialk 6000-year-old Secrets to be Revealed". Accessed Jan 30, 2007. Link: [http://www.chnpress.com/news/?section=2&id=6013] ] What little is left of the two crumbling Sialk ziggurats is now threatened by the encroaching suburbs of the expanding city of Kashan. It is not uncommon to see kids playing soccer amid the ruins, while only several meters away lie the supposedly "off limit" 5,500-year-old skeletons unearthed at the foot of the ziggurat. (see referenced articles below) The site still remains to be registered as a World Heritage Site at UNESCO for protection.

"Teppe Sialk" (In Persian, Tappe means "hill" or "mound") was first excavated by a team of European archeologists headed by Roman Ghirshman in the 1930s. His extensive studies were followed by D.E. McCown, Y. Majidzadeh, P. Amieh, up until the 1970s, and recently reviewed by Iran's Cultural Heritage Organization in 2002 (led by Shah-mirzadi, PhD, U of Penn). But like the thousands of other Iranian historical ruins, the treasures excavated here eventually found their way to museums such as The Louvre, The British Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and private collectors.

Sialk, and the entire area around it, is thought to have first originated as a result of the pristine large water sources nearby that still run today. The "Cheshmeh ye Soleiman" (or "Solomon's Spring") has been bringing water to this area from nearby mountains for thousands of years. The Fin garden, built to its present form in the 1600s is a popular tourist attraction today. It is here where Persian Kings of the Safavid dynasty would spend their vacations away from their capital cities. It is also here where, "Piruz" (Abu-Lu'lu'ah), the Iranian assassin of Islam's second Caliph is buried. All these remains are located in the same location where Sialk is.

References

;Inline

;General
*"Les Recherches Archeologiques Francaises en Iran". Nov 2001, Tehran. Institute Francais de Recherche en Iran, Musee de Louvre, ICHO.
*"The Ziggurat of Sialk", Sadegh malek Shahmirzadi, Masoud Azarnoush, Seifollah Aminian "et al." 2002. ISBN 964-7483-28-7

See also

* Iranian history before the Aryans
* Ziggurats
* Elamite Empire
*
* Kashan
* Iranian Architecture
* Iranian pottery

External links

* [http://www.iranian.com/History/2004/April/Sialk/ Heap of Dust, it is not!]
* [http://www.clickiran.com/iran/Sialk-Hills.htm Also]
* [http://www.payvand.com/news/04/jul/1177.html News item on Sialk]
* [http://www.iranian.ws/iran_news/publish/article_11346.shtml another]
* [http://www.chn.ir/en/news/?Section=2&id=6013 Cultural Heritage News Agency]
* [http://archnet.org/library/images/thumbnails.tcl?location_id=5826 fin Garden at ArchNet]