Speaking to IRNA, Seyed Mansour Seyed Sajjadi said excavations were conducted in the residential surrounding and the Burnt City cemetery in the center of the city in an area of 600 square meters.
He said excavations were conducted in the area in two phases one before the revolution by the Italian archaeologists in 9 seasons and the other after the revolution by the Iranian archaeologists in 14 seasons.
The archaeologist noted that useful information were collected in the recent excavations on the ecosystem of the people, type of food and clothing, burial procession and scientific as well as urban progress in the Burnt City.
He said some 77 graves and 84 human skeletons were examined and over 500 historical and cultural objects unearthed during the excavations.
He went on to say that in the residential quarter of the Burnt City a building with nine support walls, some storage rooms, a living room and a waterway were unearthed.
Sajjadi further remarked that an instrument for smoothing thatch with a length of 110 cm, a marble cup and an engraved leather bag were among important objects discovered in this season of excavations.
According to archaeologists, the remnants of this ancient city dates to 5,200 years ago and spans an area of some 151 hectares. It is situated adjacent to the Hirmand River on the highest edge of the northwestern old delta on the heights ‘Ramrud terrace’ and arable land of ‘Nimruz terrace’.
According to Seyed Sajjadi, with regard to the expansion of the historical area, archaeologists have thus far only excavated two percent of the entire site.
Source: IRNA [January 20, 2014]