TEHRAN Relics of an ancient village belonging to 6,000 years B.C. were unearthed in the hills of `Cheshmeh Ali' in Shahr-e Rey close to southern Tehran. Head of the archaeologists' team in charge of the excavation operations, Mohammad Rahim Sarraf, said the discoveries revealed remains of workshops used in melting of metals in the region. It also disclosed many secrets about the history of the old civilizations in Iranian Plateau in ancient times.

Sarraf also said the discovery of a pottery dish with lodes of copper in it proved the people living in this region knew about the technology of melting copper. According to the expert, the team had made the discovery during the two weeks of work in the region that the relics consisted of twelve categories in three layers. In the 12th layer, the archaeologists came across to relics of a house from a village the architecture of which belonged to prehistoric periods.

Head of the archaeologists' team noted that remains of the skeleton of two people who were laying on a piece of straw was found inside the house with a small pottery dish beside them. He added that the pottery work discovered in `Cheshme Ali' hills showed that the civilization in the region belonged to the red pottery civilizations. Similar dishes were also got in Mesopotamia and some parts of Iran as well.

This similarity proved the connections among the civilizations in ancient times as well as the commonalties they shared in their culture. Cheshme Ali is located southeast of Shahr-e Rey in southern Tehran. It was used to be called `Nahrsoro' before Islamic period while it was referred to as `Nahrrudeh' after Islam conquered the country. On the hill, remains of the old walls of Shahr-e Rey widely known as Islamic Wall could also discerned.