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Sialk Hills


Sialk Hills
Photo Information
Copyright: mehrdad tadjdini (mehrdad-t) Silver Workshop Editor/Silver Note Writer [C: 15 W: 21 N: 15] (323)
Genre: Places
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2008-05-09
Categories: Daily Life
Exposure: f/4.3, 1/320 seconds
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2008-06-12 8:40
Viewed: 456
Points: 2
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Sialk is a large ancient archeological site near Kashan, Iran, tucked away in the suburbs of the city of Kashan, in central Iran, close to Fin Garden. The culture that inhabited this area has been linked to the Zayandeh Rud Civilization.
The Sialk ziggurat has 3 platforms, and was built ca. 2900 BC. However, the earliest archeological remains of the north mound date back to the middle of the 6th millennium BC, i.e. about 7500 years ago. A joint study between Iran's Cultural Heritage Organization, TheLouvre, and Institute Francais de Recherche en Iran also verifies the oldest settlements in Sialk to date back to 5500 BC - 6000 BC.

Sialk is one of four ziggurats built by the Elamite civilization. The other three are: ChoghaZanbil(1250 BC), the Susaziggurat (1800 BC), and Haft Tepe(1375 BC), all in Khuzestan. Sialk is the 32nd and most recent ziggurat to be discovered.
What remains of this 5000-year-old ziggurat is not in a favorable condition like many other ancient ruins in Iran. At the site, there are actually two structures (necropolis) at Sialk situated several hundred feet from each other. The three platforms of the larger ziggurat however still remain in place. Not much remains of the smaller structure. The Louvre has also excavated a cemetery near the structures that have been dated as far back as 7500 years.What little is left of the two crumbling Sialk ziggurats is now threatened by the encroaching suburbs of the expanding city of Kashan. It is not uncommon to see kids playing soccer amid the ruins, while only several meters away lie the supposedly "off limit" 5,500 year old skeletons unearthed at the foot of the ziggurat. The site still remains to be registered as a World Heritage Site at UNESCO for protection.
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I like the angel, typical archaeological site :-) good lighting, good composition,

TFS,

Shahab,

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