By Afshin Majlesi

Oil drilling reveals cemetery with giant urn-like tombs in southwest Iran

TEHRAN – An ancient cemetery bearing urn-like tombs has accidentally been discovered in an oil drilling project off the river Karun in Ahvaz, southwest Iran.

Parthian coffins on show at Susa Museum

TEHRAN – Three rarely-seen coffins dating from the Parthian era (247 BC – 224 CE) have been put on show at the Susa Museum in southwest Iran.

Relics donated to Meshkinshahr museum 

TEHRAN – A total of 25 historical relics have recently been donated to the Meshkinshahr museum by an individual, the city’s tourism chief has said.  

Parthian coin recovered in western Iran

TEHRAN – Iranian authorities have confiscated an ancient coin from an inbound passenger.

Rare Parthian tombstone discovered in northcentral Iran

TEHRAN – A team of archaeologists has recently discovered a rare Parthian-era (247 BC – 224 CE) tombstone in an ancient cemetery in northcentral Iran.

Evidence pushes back history of human presence in Masuleh to late Bronze Age

TEHRAN – A series of newly-found archaeological evidence indicates the history of human presence in Masuleh and its surrounding mountains in northern Iran dates back to the late Bronze Age (2000-1500 BC), which is extremely older than previously believed.

Parthian rhyton, jewelry unearthed in Semnan

TEHRAN – Archaeologists have unearthed a clay rhyton and some pieces of jewelry while surveying tomb chambers of an ancient cemetery in Semnan province, north-central Iran.

Seleucid, Parthian and Islamic relics unearthed in west-central Iran

TEHRAN – Archaeologists have unearthed relics dating from the Seleucid, Parthian, and Islamic eras as they were attempting to discover the ruins of the Seleucid Laodicea Temple believed to be buried under the modern town of Nahavand in Hamedan province, west-central Iran.

Temple of Anahita in western Iran undergoes restoration

TEHRAN – A restoration project has been commenced on the ancient temple of Anahita, which is located in the city of Kangavar, western Iran.

Parthian underground city getting prepared for public visits  

TEHRAN - Samen underground city is getting prepared to reopen to the public in west-central Iran. The ancient troglodytic settlement dates back to the Parthian era (247 BC – 224 CE) based on archaeological evidence.

Parthian, Sassanid, Islamic coins under restoration by Iranian experts 

TEHRAN – Some 200 historical coins are currently being restored by a team of Iranian experts at Mofakham Museum of Bojnurd in North Khorasan province. 

Coins of Parthian, Abbasid, and Safavid eras restored in Zanjan museum  

TEHRAN – A total of 25 coins, which date from the Parthian, Abbasid, and Safavid eras, have recently been restored in a museum laboratory in Zanjan.

Access path to once out-of-reach fort under construction  

TEHRAN – Local authorities have launched a tourism project to construct an access path to Qahqaheh fortress, which was once an out-of-reach military monument in Meshkinshahr, northwestern Ardebil province.

Smuggled Iranian relics returned home from Austria

TEHRAN - A total of 28 Iranian relics, which had been smuggled abroad decades ago, were finally returned home on Sunday. Last year, the objects were recovered and surrendered to a representative of the Islamic Republic in Vienna.

A peek into core elements of traditional Iranian architecture

TEHRAN – The history of Iranian architecture is very complex and time-stretched. The Elamite, Achaemenian, Hellenistic, and other pre-Islamic dynasties left striking stone testaments to their greatness, such as Chogha Zanbil and Persepolis—both designated as UNESCO World Heritage sites in 1979.

Architecturally-rich Tepe Ashraf to be turned into open-air museum

TEHRAN – Tepe Ashraf, an architecturally-rich mount that has so far yielded ancient human remains and relics, will be turned into an open-air museum in the touristic city of Isfahan, central Iran.  

DNA obtained from ancient skeletons found in northern Iran

TEHRAN – DNA samples have been extracted from some ancient skeletons being unearthed in Liar-Sang-Bon, an archaeological site and cemetery in Amlash region, Gilan province, northern Iran.

Taq Kasra, Sassanid masterpiece of architecture, partly collapses in modern Iraq

TEHRAN – Segments of Taq Kasra, which is an architecturally-important Sasanian-era Persian monument in modern Iraq, has recently been collapsed, Mehr reported based on Iraqi sources.

Archaeological evidence may reshape Yazd history

TEHRAN – Recent archeological findings have shed new light on the history of Yazd, the UNESCO-registered oasis city in central Iran, proposing its antiquity may go down in time more than previously thought.

Ramparts of ancient fort unearthed in northeast Iran

TEHRAN – Ramparts and towers of an ancient fortress, believed to date from the times of Parthians (247 BC – 224 CE), have partly been unearthed in northeast Iran.

Archaeological survey resumed at ancient hill with Bronze Age relics northwest Iran

TEHRAN – The second archaeological survey has recently commenced at Tappeh Gerdi-Gouran months after the ancient mount situated in Iran’s northwestern Piranshahr county yielded relics and vestiges from the Bronze Age.

Remnants of Achaemenid fortress unearthed in northeast Iran

TEHRAN – Iranian archaeologists have discovered remnants of an ancient fortress, believed to date back to the Achaemenid era (c. 550-330 BC), during a survey held across Tepe Rivi in the northeastern province of North Khorasan.

192 archaeological sites, dating from Stone, Copper and Bronze ages, identified in western Iran

TEHRAN – A total of 192 archeological sites and human settlements, dating back to various epochs including the Stone Age, Copper Age, and Bronze Age and the Neolithic, have been identified during a recent archaeological survey in Lorestan province, western Iran.

Millennia-old tomb, skeleton and spearhead unearthed in western Iran

TEHRAN – A team of Iranian archaeologists has discovered an ancient human skeleton with a spearhead beneath its ribs in a tomb chamber in a rural area, western Kordestan province.

 Third Parthian skeleton unearthed in Isfahan

TEHRAN – Iranian archaeologists have discovered the remains of an ancient human in a prehistorical mount in Isfahan, central Iran, saying that is “the third Parthian skeleton” being unearthed there over the past couple of weeks.