TEHRAN – Thirteen historical objects found at the ancient Burnt City and 5,000-year-old Espidej cemetery, both in southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan province, have been inscribed on the National Heritage list.

Clay bowls, cups, urn, and glass are among the objects, CHTN reported on Saturday.

The historical relics can be visited at the Regional Museum of Southeastern Iran in the city of Zahedan.

Located 25 kilometers from Zabol, the Espidej cemetery, which is a part of an ancient city, was inscribed on the National Heritage list in 2002.

Called “Shahr-e Sukhteh” in Persian, the Burnt City is associated with four rounds of civilization, all burnt down by catastrophic sets of fire. It is located at the junction of Bronze Age trade routes crossing the Iranian plateau. The remains of the mudbrick city represent the emergence of the first complex societies in eastern Iran.

Founded around 3,200 BC, it was populated during four main periods up to 1,800 BC, during which time there developed several distinct areas within the city: those where monuments were built, and separate quarters for housing, burial, and manufacture.

According to UNESCO, diversions in watercourses and climate change led to the eventual abandonment of the city in the early second millennium. The structures, burial grounds, and a large number of significant artifacts unearthed there, and their well-preserved state due to the dry desert climate, make this site a rich source of information regarding the emergence of complex societies and contacts between them in the third millennium BC.

ABU/MG