TEHRAN -- An archaeologist lamented the four-year hiatus in the excavations at the Achaemenid palace of Bardak Siah, urging new studies be undertaken on the ancient site in southern Iran.

Additional studies on the palace located near the city of Borazajan in Bushehr Province can shed light on the history of the Achaemenids before Cyrus the Great seized power, Ehsan Yaghmaii told the Persian service of CHN on Monday.
Much information will be eliminated if the Bushehr Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Department (BCHTHD) continues to procrastinate over conducting a new season of excavations, noted Yaghmaii, who discovered the ruins of the palace in 1977.
He has also directed the first season of excavations at the site in early winter in 2005.
Located in the ancient city of Temuken, the Bardak Siah Palace was the winter palace of the Achaemenid rulers before Cyrus the Great founded the Achaemenid empire.
In 2005, Yaghmaii’s team unearthed a total of 16 column bases of the main hall of the palace, which was previously believed to belong to Darius the Great, and 6 column bases of its southern iwan. The ruins of its walls had previously been discovered.
The palace has been abandoned as the walls have partially deteriorated and the roots of the tamarisks are increasingly causing damage to the column bases.
The tamarisks have been planted by the owners of the palm gardens nearby in order to prevent sand storms.
The BCHTHD had previously said that it would purchase the palm gardens to free the perimeter of the ancient palace of the tamarisks.
It has also repeatedly promised to organize a new season of excavations at the palace, but the promises have yet to be fulfilled, Yaghmaii said.
Four pieces of gold in the form of thick folded sheets with a combined weight of about three kilograms were unearthed beside one of the main hall’s columns in 2005.
The artifacts have not been given to the team yet for an in-depth study, Yaghmaii said.
He believes that the gold had deliberately been folded and hidden at the foot of the column. He also surmises that the gold may bear some inscriptions.