IRNA - The objects unearthed in the historical site of Tom Maroon in the Persian Gulf are indicative of industrial activities such as metalwork, glasswork and pottery among communities of that era, the Public Relations Office of the Research Institute of Cultural Heritage and Tourism (RICHT) reported.


RICHT quoted head of the exploration team Siamak Sarlak, as stressing that in the exploration of the area two oval furnaces, welding parts, furnace slag iron and glass pieces were found, noted that among the objects a glass button-like stamp seal was found which can be important in the analysis of economic relations of Tom Maroon with other areas during that time.

He cited the targets of this phase of explorations as identification of the succession of the cultural eras of the region, chronology of the area and elucidation of the role and importance of the area in the shaping and development of cultural relations of communities residing in the northern and southern parts of the Persian Gulf in the ancient Bronze Age up to the historic and Islamic periods.

According to Sarlak, understanding and recognition of the indigenous characteristics of the region in the shaping and cultural development of communities residing in the region, especially in the ancient Bronze Age, conducting new research works in cultural-historical area of the Persian Gulf, and collection of new archeological documents with an aim of clarifying the historical position and importance of the Persian Gulf in cultural development of the communities residing in the region are among other targets of the exploration.

He further remarked that with regard to the cultural characteristics of the region and in the light of the coordination made with the Archeology Institute and Hormuzgan provincial Cultural Heritage Department, the third phase of the explorations will be launched by the end of the current calendar year (ends March 20, 2017).

Sarlak pointed out that in the second season of the explorations, approximately 7.5 meters of the accumulated layers and cultural objects of the area were surveyed, adding that in the completion of the study of the layers, nine main and two sub-phases of the architecture of the Parthian era were identified.

He referred to the importance of the thickness of the layers and cultural objects dating back to the less-known Parthian era and said with regard to the evidence and documents obtained in the exploration of Tom Maroon, studies can be conducted on the sequence of the layers in the Parthian era with a thickness of approximately 10 meters.

According to Sarlak, based on the documents obtained in the exploration of Tom Maroon, the most important construction material used in the architecture of the Parthian era is large-size adobes with clay mortar.

He said up to three decades ago, around Tom Maroon there were five satellite hills which have now been completely leveled to the ground and transferred to citrus fruits orchards and now only a small part of Tom Soltan Miran, 800 meters from Tom Maroon, has remained intact.

The archeologist stressed that based on the documents obtained in the explorations in the southern slopes of Tom Maroon, four cultural periods, including the ancient Bronze era, the Parthian era, the Sassanid era and the early centuries of the Islamic period have been identified.

He said given that the Persian Gulf cultural area which is considered one of the important regions in archeological studies of Iran and ancient Orient due to its strategic position, this area from the Old Stone Age onward has been one of the main immigration gateways of communities of that time from Africa to the East and South-East Asia. By relying on the results of archaeological researches conducted in Hormuzgan, the Old Stone Age, the ancient Bronze era, the Parthian, the Sassanid and the Islamic periods (especially the Safavid) are considered the area of flourishing cultures and civilizations of the region.

Sarlak added that in 1386 (2007/2008) and in the aftermath of political instigation of some southern littoral states of the Persian Gulf and their attempt to forge the historical name of the Persian Gulf, the plan for conducting new studies in the cultural area of the Persian Gulf was discussed and approved in the Archeology Institute.

He said the main objective of the project was to conduct a series of targeted and archeological research studies in the coastal areas, hinterlands, and the Persian Gulf islands, publish the results at domestic and international levels in line with the elucidation of the identity and historic name of the Persian Gulf and the role and importance of the culture and communities settled in the northern coasts of the Persian Gulf and the Iranian plateau in the development and flourishing of cultures and communities settled in the region.

Tom Maroon is located in Hormuzgan Province in a fertile alluvial plain, known as Komiz Plain, surrounded by low mountains. The plain is irrigated by two rivers, Minab and Richnega, and their branches.