8000-year-old pottery, kilns found near Shahrud

Monday, March 13, 2006 - c2005 IranMania.com

LONDON, March 13 (IranMania) - A team of Iranian archaeologists has discovered kilns, some pottery, and several stone blades during the current phase of excavations at the 8000-year-old Deh-Kheyr tepe, which is located near Shahrud in Semnan Province.

?The discoveries indicate that the site might have been an industrial region in ancient times,? team director Hassan Rezvani told IRNA.

Excavations carried out over the past few years by Iranian and Japanese experts at Deh-Kheyr and Tappeh-Chakhmanq, south of Shahrud, resulted in the discovery of traces from the Neolithic era (circa 9000?8000 BC), putting the region on the archaeological map.

In the new phase of excavations, the cultural sequence of this era and previous periods will be studied, Rezvani said.

After the Neolithic era, people settled in the Shahrud region due to its hospitable environment, he added.

Shahrud is located 398 kilometers east of Tehran and the Deh-Kheyr tepe is 15 kilometers north of the city.

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