Mesopotamia

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  • Ancient DNA reveals Zagros foothills as Bronze Age crossroads of peoples and cultures 2026-06-20 17:31

    Ancient DNA reveals Zagros foothills as Bronze Age crossroads of peoples and cultures

    TEHRAN - The Zagros mountain range and its foothills have long served as a crossroads for the movement of peoples, cultures, and languages. A question that has occupied scholars for decades is whether these cultural influences and population movements were accompanied by significant genetic changes. New research published in Genome Biology, which analyzed the ancient DNA of 17 individuals from the archaeological site of Bakr Awa in Iraqi Kurdistan, located in the western foothills of the Zagros, offers important insights into this question.

  • Then-director of the Tchogha Zanbil World Heritage site speaks with a Tehran Times correspondent at the UNESCO-listed site on December 25, 2025. 2026-01-18 17:00

    By Afshin Majlesi

    At Tchogha Zanbil, a living monument to Elamite faith and engineering

    On a serene plain in southwestern Iran, the stepped ziggurat of Tchogha Zanbil has stood for more than 3,500 years, making it the best-preserved ziggurat outside Mesopotamia and one of the rare surviving monuments of the Elamite civilization.

  • Archaeologist says pomegranate origin traces back to the Iranian plateau 2025-12-22 17:45

    Archaeologist says pomegranate origin traces back to the Iranian plateau

    TEHRAN--Pomegranate is not only a plant native to the Iranian plateau, but also a symbol of civilization that has been present in Iranian culture as a symbol of fertility, blessing, and continuity of life, at least since the Iron Age until today, and rituals such as Yalda Night are a direct continuation of this ancient tradition.

  • Holeylan 2025-10-20 17:22

    Holeylan Valley, historical passage of tool-making humans from 100,000 years ago

    TEHRAN-Archaeological studies show that tool-making humans lived in the Holeylan Valley in Ilam province for about 100,000 years and after going through the initial stages, have achieved irrigated agriculture and livestock domestication.

  • CIVILIZATION 2025-10-03 17:46

    Iran 6,000 years ago, ahead of Mesopotamia in innovation, culture

    TEHRAN-- New excavations at the ancient site of Chega Sofla in southeast of Khuzestan province have provided a new picture of the history of early Near East civilizations.

  • relief 2025-10-01 17:45

    4,000-year-old Elamite relief found in southwest Iran

    TEHRAN – Archaeologists have identified a small Elamite relief in Izeh, Khuzestan province, depicting a king in prayer to a sun and justice deity, Iran’s Ministry of Cultural Heritage said on Tuesday.

  • Mahmoudian 2025-09-30 17:37

    Mehran plain is home to key prehistoric sites, archaeologist says

    TEHRAN – The Mehran plain, situated west of the Zagros Mountains, is home to important archaeological hubs with evidence of human settlement dating back to prehistoric times, an archaeologist said on Monday.