TEHRAN – A rock sculpture from the Sassanid period, estimated to be over 1,500 years ago, was discovered on the cliffs of Mavdasht in Faz province, southern Iran, Iranian historians said Thursday.
Abolhassan Atabaki said the find is one of the smallest and most detailed Sassanido sculptures. It depicts the nobility in what he described as a “needlepoint style” sculpture.
“Newly discovered sculptures could change the stylistic classification of Sassanidrock art,” Atabaki said. “These needle point motifs are not limited to the early Sassanide rulers, but also belong to the late Sassanide era, and still maintain the principles of composition and contrast.”
Atabaki said that Marvdasht is home to more than 50 historical discoveries of the Elamite, Achemenid and Sassanid civilizations, most of which are inscriptions and rock sculptures.
History researcher Najmeh Ebrahimi said the sculpture shows an outlined figure of male figure, measuring about 4 x 5 centimeters. She said the piece was partially damaged from later Islamic sculptures, but still showed details of a gorgeous necklace, flowing ribbon and elaborate dress.
An accurate sketch of a rock sculpture from the Sassanid period of the “noble” discovered in Faz province, southern Iran.
“These factors suggest that this figure belonged to the late Sassanid nobles or cavalry officers in the Estacle and the wider Fars region,” Ebrahimi said.
Earlier this year, Atabaki announced the discovery of another rare Sassanid inscription at Marvdasht, which denies the destruction of the promise. Last month he reported that he found what was called the world’s smallest known ancient inscription, a text from the same region, 600 years ago.
The Sassanid Empire, which ruled Persia from 224 to 651, is known for its art and architecture with major sites such as Bishapur, Nakshuerostam and Nakshuerajab in Faz Province.
Under Sassanid, Persian art and architecture experienced a general Renaissance. The architecture often took on spectacular proportions, including the palaces of Ctesiphon, Firuzabad and Sarvestan.
Although crafts such as metalwork and jewel sculptures were very refined, scholarships were encouraged by the state. In that year, both East and West works were translated into Pahlavi, the Sassanian language.
In 2018, UNESCO was added to the World Heritage List, entitled “The Sassanid Archaeological Landscape of the Fars Region” in Sassanid, a historic city in southern Iran.
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