The fourth phase of the Chehrabad archeological excavations has led to discovery of the skull of Iran's sixth saltman two years after a snowstorm hit its resting place.
The sixth mummy, which was left untouched since the snowstorm, is considered by some experts as the most important of the whole collection.
A group of Iranian and German archeologists started excavations in Chehrabad salt mine ten days ago in the northwestern city of Zanjan. The German group consists of anthropologists, zoologists and botanists who will accompany the Iranian team during the month-long project, CHTN reported.
Previous excavations, conducted in 1993, 2004 and 2005, yielded five salt men which are now housed at Iran's National Museum and Zanjan's Archaeology Museum.
Experts have conducted studies on the Chehrabad saltmen to assess the amount of damage inflicted on them.
This is while Iranian experts have continuously expressed their concern about the critical condition of the mummies, saying that they were kept under non-standard circumstances.
Chehrabad salt mine has yielded six saltmen over the past decade, five of which are housed at Iran's National Museum and Zanjan's Archaeology Museum.
The third, fourth and the fifth salt mummies date back to the Achaemenid era while the sixth belongs to either the Parthian or the Sassanid era.
Source: Press TV [June 13, 2010]