Tehran – Daily utility excavations in the historic city of Isfahan led to the unexpected discovery of human skeletal ruins and ceramic fragments, promptly halting construction work and paying new attention to the archaeological significance of the region.
According to Seyyed Rouhollah Seyed Al-Askari, assistant director of Isfahan’s Cultural Heritage Division, the body was found during an underground cable replacement work carried out by a local utility in the Chahar Baghew Payin district of central Isfahan.
The drilling is intended to reach a depth of 1-1.5 meters and replace aged electrical cables with new infrastructure. However, workers encountered human bones and pottery, causing a rapid response from heritage authorities.
Seyyed Al-Askari noted that the excavation was done with permission from the local government but without coordination with the state’s Department of Cultural Heritage. As a result, the project was suspended until expert archaeologists and cultural heritage inspectors could evaluate the site.
“This sector highlights the historical values of the region,” he said. This was once the capital of the Persian Empire during the Safavid era.
Initial assessments suggest that the excavation site may overlap with the former cemetery’s basis. It is known to have existed until the early 20th century before being erased by urban development in the 1920s and 1930s.
Heritage officials are now expected to oversee further investigations of the site and protect any additional artifacts that may be discovered to determine the context and duration of the body.
Called Nesf-e-Jahan (“half of the world”), Isfahan was once a crossroads in Iran’s international trade and diplomacy, but now for good reason it is one of Iran’s top tourist destinations. It is filled with many architectural wonders, including unparalleled Islamic buildings, bazaars, museums, Persian gardens, tree-lined paths and more. It is a city where you walk, get lost in a bazaar, a city where you can doze off in beautiful gardens and meet people.
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