IRNA � Some 39 precincts, including hills, sites, castles and cemeteries were identified in Silveh Dam, West Azarbaijan, the Research Institute of Cultural Heritage and Tourism (RICHT) reported.


The identified works date back to different cultural-historical eras (Neolithic, Stone Copper, Bronze, Iron, Historical and Islamic periods).

RICHT Public Relations Office quoted head of the archaeological team Afrasyab Geravand Tuesday as saying the northwest of Iran as a connection bridge between the Iranian plateau, the Caucasus, Asia Minor and Mesopotamia has always played an important role in the relations and cultural exchanges.

Due to the presence of permanent rivers, springs, animal and plant resources, fertile land and pastures, the Silveh Piranshahr valley plain has been a suitable place for settlement since ancient times, but so far no archeological survey has been conducted there, he said.

The area has been the main and natural route for communication between the two northwest and Mesopotamia regions since pre-history up to date. Today field studies are considered an important step in the analytical programs of the development and evolution of human history and exploration in the area, he added.

He went on to say that project aimed at surveying and identifying settlement locations, specifying dispersion of ancient areas, accurate and targeted measurement of the entire network and the dewatering limits and introducing all the discovered historical and cultural works irrespective of their importance, value and type.