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2026-07-31 15:45
By Sahar Dadjoo
Destruction of Iran's cultural sites by Israel, US tantamount to destroying a civilization
Historian Touraj Daryaee says international law is nearly powerless against superpowers, but UNESCO status could deter future attacks
TEHRAN – Since US and Israeli strikes began in February, over 130 registered monuments and museums across Iran have sustained damage, from the Golestan Palace to historic quarters in Isfahan, Kordestan, and Lorestan. In an exclusive interview with Tehran Times, Touraj Daryaee, historian of ancient Iran and editor of Encyclopaedia Iranica, discusses the emotional and scholarly weight of watching millennia-old heritage damaged within weeks, the limits of international legal accountability, and what the destruction means for how Iran's history will be told and remembered.
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2026-07-19 18:48
Prominent Iranian archaeologist Ismail Yaghmaei passes away at 84
TEHRAN – Ismail Yaghmaei (also known as Ehsan Yaghmaei), one of Iran’s renowned archaeologists and a veteran of the country’s cultural heritage, passed away on Sunday morning, at Pars Hospital in Tehran. He was 84.
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2026-06-21 17:44
Archaeologists uncover rooms and corridors in underground hand-carved complex in western Iran
TEHRAN - Archaeologists conducting the first phase of excavation and documentation at an underground hand-carved complex in Aligudarz, western Iran, have uncovered four rooms and six corridors, with evidence indicating the site was used during the late Sasanian period and the medieval Islamic era, officials said.
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2026-06-02 17:25
New hall and ritual offering tables unearthed at Vigol fire temple site
TEHRAN – Archaeologists working at the ancient Vigol archaeological site in central Iran have discovered a new hall and the remains of ritual offering tables during the third season of excavations at the site, a cultural heritage official said on Monday.
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2026-05-31 17:50
By Sepehr Zarei, archaeologist
Zobeiri: Guardian of the Persian Gulf’s millennia-old heritage
Until recently, few imagined human presence on Iran’s Persian Gulf islands extended beyond the last millennium. But archaeological research has transformed this understanding. Excavations on Qeshm Island pushed settlement back nearly 5,000 years, while stone tools on Bam-e Qeshm hinted at an even older past. The discovery of Paleolithic sites on Hormuz Island—Chand-Derakht and Sang-e Ghorab—revealed that Middle Paleolithic populations lived there between 150,000 and 40,000 years ago, highlighting the Persian Gulf’s role in early human migrations. Long before these scientific findings, Master Mohammad Zobeiri had already grasped this deep historical continuity, preserving it in the Deyrestan Anthropology Museum and his book Ganz-e Bapu.
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2026-04-26 18:26
Ecbatana’s layered past reveals early urban planning and imperial legacy in west-central Iran
TEHRAN – The ancient city of Ecbatana, located partly beneath the modern city of Hamadan, remains one of the most significant archaeological sites in Iran, offering evidence of early urban planning and continuous occupation across multiple historical eras.
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2026-02-02 17:01
Ancient hill in Ilam’s Karezan district inhabited since 5th millennium BC
TEHRAN -- Cultural artifacts which have been found on the surface of the Chegha Seifur hill in Karezan district, Ilam province, and their diversity, indicate that Chegha Seifur has been continuously inhabited since the 5th millennium BC until the historical period.
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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.
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2025-12-08 16:44
Archaeologist considers Chega Sofla site to be key civilizational link of Persian Gulf
TEHRAN--Chega Sofla ancient site in Dasht-e Zohreh, southeast of Khuzestan province, is one of the most key civilizational links of Persian Gulf, where the world’s first brick tomb, an elaborate shrine, and unique evidence of the privileged position of women in the 5th millennium BC have been discovered.
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2025-11-26 16:59
Third excavation season begins at Zel Hastijan cave
TEHRAN-- The third excavation season has begun in Zel Hastijan Cave, in the city of Delijan, Markazi province.
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2025-11-19 17:44
Cultural and civilizational developments of Iron Age in Western Iran
TEHRAN--The Iron Age in Iran is not just a historical period; it is the narrative of thousands of years of life, migration, and art that has been left in cemeteries and ancient sites from Zagros to the north of the country and has been revived today through scientific explorations.
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2025-10-06 18:15
Nablus Governorate’s archaeological sites face Israeli expropriation plans
TEHRAN - In a move described by critics as a systematic effort to confiscate Palestinian heritage, the Israeli government has unilaterally declared 63 archaeological sites in the occupied West Bank as "Israeli historical and archaeological sites."
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2025-10-05 17:36
Burnt City, a symbol of peaceful coexistence in ancient Iran
TEHRAN - An Iranian archaeologist has said that the UNESCO-registered Burnt City is one of the most prominent archaeological sites in Iran, reflecting one of the earliest urban societies in the history of human civilization.
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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.
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2025-09-20 17:22
Gartak ancient site, a hidden treasure of Ilam history
TEHRAN—The Gartak ancient site in Sirvan county, Ilam province, holds the secrets of the lives of ancient people and is a hidden treasure of the history of Ilam, Habibollah Mahmoudian, a specialist in prehistoric archaeology, has said.
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2025-09-13 17:25
Archaeological work begins at Persepolis
TEHRAN – A new phase of archaeological excavations has begun in the core protected zone of Persepolis in southern Iran to determine the exact boundaries of historic remains, the site director said on Saturday.
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2025-09-08 16:32
Archaeologist rejects claim of discovery of Seljuk palace in Kamar-Zarrin passage
TEHRAN—Prominent archaeologist Alireza Jafari-Zand emphasized that there is no sign of a Seljuk palace in Kamar-Zarrin site in Isfahan, and the published news lacks a scientific basis and is propaganda.
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2025-09-02 16:54
Ilam’s Chogha Golan, the oldest agricultural origin in West Asia
TEHRAN—Chogha Golan region in Mehran county, Ilam province, is the oldest cradle of agriculture across Iran and West Asia, Habibollah Mahmoudian, a specialist in prehistoric archaeology, has said.
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2025-08-27 17:35
By Afshin Majlesi
Iran pays tribute to distinguished cultural heritage figures
TEHRAN – Iran honored a selection of prominent cultural heritage figures on Tuesday evening during a special ceremony held at the Sa’adabad Cultural-Historical Complex in northern Tehran, attended by senior government and cultural officials.
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2025-08-09 17:43
Sassanid-era Vigol fire temple undergoes restoration
TEHRAN – Restoration work has commenced on the Vigol fire temple, a rare archaeological site from the Sassanid era located in the central province of Isfahan, the provincial tourism chief said on Saturday.