TEHRAN – The Melan Plain, located west of the Zagros Mountains, is home to an important archaeological hub with evidence of human settlements dating back to prehistoric times, archaeologists said Monday.
Prehistoric archaeology expert Habibora Mahmoudian told Isna that eramite and Uruk pottery were the place to reveal cultural ties to Eastern Mesopotamia.
Mahmoudian said Mehran County is located in a low-lying area on the edge of the Iranian Heights and is connected to relatively flat land in Eastern Mesopotamia.
He added that in terms of historical and archaeological development, the region is dependent and intertwined with East Mesopotamian culture.
Archaeologists noted that Mehlan Plain and its satellite-hill area are located in the rugged western hills of Zagros, which includes Mount Kabirk and its parallel heights.
He explained that early village formation should be required in remote plains associated with mountains such as the Hijidane and Goran region, as human settlements are at the beginning of slopes and mediocre settlements.
Referring to effective factors in human settlements in the area, he said food, water resources, proximity to villages and summer cottages, the presence of forest forests, natural shelters, stones for building settlements, and proximity to mountains as the presence of appropriate climate are key factors for the settlement of the area.
He added that archaeological findings and evidence at sites such as Chogha Golan and Seyyed Hassan confirm the human settlements of the county during prehistoric times.
Mahmoudian explained that early studies showed that it is possible to observe the continuity and sequence of reconciliation between Shushan and Musiah plains in Bhadra city, Iraq.
He added that Melan’s Uruk and Susa pottery samples (Elamite period) demonstrated cultural ties between southwestern Iran and eastern Mesopotamia.
The investigation was continued by director Jebrel Nokande, director of the Iranian National Museum, leading to the identification of 62 ancient sites spanning the period from the late Paleolithic to the late Islamic period, he said. As a result of these studies, he added that the important location of Choga Golan entered the Iranian archaeological literature and was later designated as a protected area by Nokande.
Mahmoudian said the results of Mehran’s archaeological research had attracted the attention of researchers such as Abbas Alizadeh, and Alizadeh submitted a research plan to the cultural heritage organization of the time, demanding archaeological research from Mehran Plain.
He continued in 2003 Mohsen Zaidi investigated the eastern and buffer zones between Mehran Plains and Dehloran Plains, identifying sites from the writing period to the historic period. In 2010, Zaidi began excavations and excavations at Golan Hill for two seasons of stratigraphic purposes.
Archaeologists said the dating of carbon-14 samples from this site indicates long residence from around the middle of the 10th millennium BC to the end of the 8th millennium BC.
Mahmoudian said new archaeological excavations have been underway in the city, especially in the village of Golan, and the results have not yet been announced.
KD