TEHRAN -- A team of archaeologists has been assigned to carry out excavations at the Khaleseh Tepe in northwestern Iran in the near future.

Traces of habitation dating from the Neolithic era up until the Copper and Stone Ages have been discovered during initial studies on the mound, which is located in the Khorramdarreh region near the city of Abhar in Zanjan Province, the Persian service of CHN reported on Tuesday.
The site is surrounded by numerous gardens which will hinder excavations in such a way that only two hectares will be available for study.
The work will shed light on ancient cultural relations between this particular region, Qazvin plain and Iran’s other northeastern ancient sites, team director Hamidreza Valipur said.
The team has discovered a number of beige-colored shards bearing ornamental motifs on the surface of the mound which are similar to relics previously discovered at Zagheh Tepe near the city of Qazvin, he added.
This is the first time that the Khorramdarreh region is to be studied in relationship to prehistoric ages, he noted.
“Khaleseh is a low mound and we surmise that we will find remains of early villages and both permanent and temporary habitations dating back to between 5000-6000 BC,” Valipur stated.
“Initial studies on remains, including the shards collected from the surface of the mound, show that it was inhabited during the Neolithic era and Copper and Stone Ages, and later abandoned,” he explained.
However, he pointed out that more studies are needed to confirm the issue.