TEHRAN -- The skeleton of a child who was burned to death 5000 years ago was recently unearthed at Iran’s 5200-year-old Burnt City.

The totally burned skeleton was discovered during the 12th season of excavation,” anthropologist Farzad Foruzanfar told the Persian service of CHN on Wednesday.
The child had probably suffocated because of CO2 discharged into the atmosphere before he had to tolerate the pain and was later gradually burned into bones, he added.
“The body was burned up to the lower jaw and the only remaining parts were part of the face and the skull,” he explained.
The primary evidence indicates that the body was burned gradually in an oven or something similar and the bones lost water and were left black and hollow, he stated.
The other point is that the body of the child was not moved, Foruzanfar said, adding, “The arms and legs were in their normal positions and the fire did not cause any parts to move. This might probably indicate a bitter cold winter at the Burnt City in that time.”
“This also proves that the incident happened in winter when the child probably was under a kursi (a square table covered with quilts and blankets with a brazier under it to heat the legs and the body). The child first suffocated and then was burned with fire from under the kursi, and the only remaining part is the head which was out of the fire,” he added.
A joint Italian-Iranian archaeological team at the cemetery of the city carried out the 12th season of excavations that concluded last week. The 12th season began in late December 2008 and was led by Iranian archaeologist Mansur Sajjadi.
The Burnt City is located 57 kilometers from the city of Zabol in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan Province.