Shahr-e Sukhteh in South Eastern Iran is known as the Burnt City. It was founded around 3200 BC and burned down three times before being abandoned in 1800BC.
A recent discovery of a piece of leather covered in drawings add to the mystery of this special place. Archaeologists are trying to save this rare find before it deteriorates.
Excavations have revealed some other amazing discoveries including an artificial eyeball, a 10cm ruler allegedly accurate to 1mm and a marble cup with completely unknown decorations.
(The eyeball) … has a hemispherical form and a diameter of just over 2.5 cm (1 inch). It consists of very light material, probably bitumen paste. The surface of the artificial eye is covered with a thin layer of gold, engraved with a central circle (representing the iris) and gold lines patterned like sun rays. The female remains found with the artificial eye was 1.82 m tall (6 feet), much taller than ordinary women of her time. On both sides of the eye are drilled tiny holes, through which a golden thread could hold the eyeball in place. Since microscopic research has shown that the eye socket showed clear imprints of the golden thread, the eyeball must have been worn during her lifetime. The woman’s skeleton has been dated to between 2900 and 2800 BCE
The findings have led some to conclude that a unique culture arose independently from their Mesopotamian neighbours:
“Ancient Mesopotamia, corresponding to modern-day Iraq, Kuwait and north eastern Iran, is widely considered to be the cradle of western civilization,” New Historian’s Adam Steedman Thake writes.
“If it is the case that the Burnt City had developed free from Mesopotamian influence, it could mean that the early urban era was a lot more metropolitan than previously thought. If Mesopotamia was simply one of many city-based civilizations from 5,000 years ago, we will need to rethink the origins of our urban living.”
Recent excavations also uncovered ruins of a
structure in an urban part of the Burnt City. The structure has two
walls, each about a yard (1 meter) thick and is supported by nine
buttresses.
“The signs of fire are clearly seen in some rooms of the building,”
Sajjadi said. The team had found a small adjoining room in the building.
The room had pieces of colored (sic) and plain textiles. The smaller
chamber may have been used as a place for conducting sacrifices,
scholars speculate, and the textiles may have contained offerings.
The Burnt City covers 373 acres, and is one of the largest sites from a time when people were beginning to settle in urban landscapes. Containing over 25,000 graves, it gives a glimpse into how populated this ancient city really was and how our perception of this era is very, very wrong.
