Once a lively outpost on the early Mesopotamian trade route, Godin Tepe now sits in ruins in Iran. Controversial archaeological excavations in the 1960s and 70s highlighted some of the rich cultural...
The Ziggurat of Jiroft, known also as the Konar Sandal Ziggurat, is an ancient monument located in Jiroft in the southern Iranian province of Kerman, a place that some say is Iran’s cradle of...
Archaeological records related to ancient drinks are quite rare, but they take us to realms of ancient life which were hidden for a long time. With new technologies and chemical analysis, scientists...
Arg-é Bam is a citadel located in Bam, a city in the Kerman Province in the south-eastern part of Iran. This citadel was built entirely out of adobe unbaked clay bricks, and it is often regarded as...
The city of Dezful, located in present-day southern Iran, once belonged to the ancient and powerful Persian Empire. One of its most iconic landmarks, the Dezful bridge, is the oldest still-standing...
The Behistun Inscription is an engraving located on the cliff of Mount Behistun (said to have had the meaning of ‘place where the gods dwell’ in antiquity). This inscription was written in three...
The Caves of Karaftu are a series of chambers that were carved into the cliff face of a mountain in the Kurdistan Province of Iran. The caves were formed naturally, but were modified by inhabitants...
Ardashir proclaimed himself king of Persis by 208 CE. His brothers protested this and Ardashir disposed of them. If his brother challenges were not enough, many local petty kings of Persis refused to...
Incredibly, the end of the Parthian Empire started with a fake wedding. Before the wedding took place, a civil war had been raging in Parthia between Vologases VI and his brother Artabanus V. After...
Kuh-e Alvand is Persian for Mount Alvand. Located in the Zagros mountains near the city of Hamadan in northwestern Iran at map coordinates 34.664167, 48.486667, the elevation of Alvand is 3,580...
The Achaemenid Empire is traditionally believed to have been founded by Cyrus the Great during the middle of the 6 th century B.C. In 559 B.C., Cyrus became the king of Persis, and 9 years later,...
A mass grave containing the remains of more than 250 people was discovered by archaeologists at the ancient city of Haft Tappeh, Iran. Scientist are now working to determine how these people perished...
The skeletal remains of several hundred bodies piled high behind a ruin wall are testimony to the terrible tragedy that unfolded in the ancient city of the Seven Mounds. Archaeologists have uncovered...
The Iron Throne from the Game of Thrones is perhaps one of the most iconic objects in 21st century pop culture. The concept of the throne, as many already know, has been in existence for a much...
In the ancient Near East, archery became the predominant means of launching sharp projectiles, replacing spear-throwing. The history of archery, however, may have originated further down south during...
Sitting in a remote valley about 70km (43 miles) north of Yazd in Central Iran, is the deserted and crumbling mud-brick village of Kharanaq. The site has been occupied for approximately 4,000 years,...