29 Mar 2024
Saturday 2 November 2013 - 12:23
Story Code : 61600

Huge temple excavated in Iranian southern province

Huge temple excavated in Iranian southern province
Archaeologists have excavated remains of a massive structure, believed to be an ancient temple, near Persepolis in the southern Iranian province of Fars.
The discovered structure dates back to Achaemenid era, the reign of Cyrus the Great, experts say.

The excavation was carried out by a team of Iranian and Italian archaeologists in the ancient city of Parsa on the perimeter of Persepolis in Fars Province, said the Iranian director of the team Ali Reza Asgari Chaverdi.

The building covers an area of 33x33 meters and constructed by numerous bricks bearing bas-reliefs of the mythical animal motifs of Persia and Mesopotamia.

The designed motifs are similar to those ones used on the Ishtar Gate (the eighth gate to the inner city) of Babylon in Mesopotamia, Asgari explained.

The excavation team also found an Akkadian-Babylonian cuneiform inscription at the area.

Various colors and mythical motifs such as Mushussu, a snake-dragon shaped symbol of Marduk (the chief of the Babylonian deities), and various lotus designs and some other symbols indicated that the unearthed remains belong to the reign of Cyrus the Great.

Marduk was the god of the sky and the Earth during the Neo-Babylonian Empire. When Cyrus conquered Babylonia in 539 BCE, Marduk was the most influential deity in Mesopotamia.

According to archaeologists, groups of Babylonian priests and artisans were taken to the region after the conquest of Babylonia and thereafter were allowed to build as religious structure with mythical symbols.

Cyrus the Great was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire that embraced all the previous civilized states of the ancient Near East. It is said that he respected the customs and religions of the lands he conquered.

Cyrus the Great also proclaimed what has been identified by scholars and archaeologists to be the oldest known declaration of human rights, which was transcribed onto the Cyrus Cylinder.

Professor Pierfrancesco Callieri of the University of Bologna and a number of his colleagues are also among the members who contributed to the excavation project which began in late September and will come to an end in next few days.

By Press TV

 

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