Haft Tepe

Haft Tepe is an archaeological site situated in the Khuzestan Province in southwestern Iran. At this site the remains of the Elamite city of Kabnak were discovered in 1908, and excavations are still carried out.

The city of Kabnak became an important political centre during the reign of the Elamite king Tepti-Ahar, the last king of the Kidinuid dynasty ruling in the 15th century BC. He may also have been buried in the city. After his death the centre of power returned to the old capital Susa. Some centuries later another city was built at the nearby site of Choqa Zanbil.

Excavations at Haft Tepe revealed a large temple founded by Tepti-Ahar where the god Kirwashir was worshiped. Beneath the temple lay a subterranean funerary complex intended for the king and his family. Skeletal remains were found in the tomb, though it is not certain they belong to royalty. Another large structure found at the site was perhaps the foundations of a ziggurat, along with courtyards and suites of rooms. The temple complex was decorated with bronze plates and wall paintings. Administrative texts belonging to the reigns of Tepti-Ahar and Inshushinak-zunkir-nappipir were also found at the site. Recently some clay statuettes of fertility goddesses have been unearthed at Haft Tepe.

Haft Tepe was first surveyed by the French archaeologist Jacques de Morgan in 1908. The site was excavated in the period from 1965 through 1978 by a mission led by the Iranian archaeologist Negahban. Since 2003 excavations have been carried out by a team of German-Iranian archaeologists, headed by Behzad Mofidi.

External links

* [http://www.chn.ir/en/news/?id=5840&section=2 Cultural Heritage News Agency: "Fertile Goddesses Unveiled in Haft Tepe" (16 Oct 2005).]
* [http://www.livius.org/a/iran/hafttepe/7tepe.html Livius.org: Photos of Haft Tepe]