Tehran, 1 July 2007 (CHN Foreign Desk) – A negotiation table will be held today with attendance of authorities of Iran’s Ministry of Petroleum and Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHHTO) to clarifying the situation of Tchogha Zanbil and protecting this World Heritage Site, located in southern Iranian province of Khuzestan, against activities of Iran’s Ministry of Petroleum. 

 

Activities of Iran’s Ministry of Petroleum in vicinity of Tchogha Zanbil by digging 15-meter-depth oil wells in order to identify the underground oil resources in the region without coordinating with ICHHTO raised huge concern among cultural heritage experts and ICHHTO voiced its opposition to such activities from the very beginning.

 

According to Mohammad Hassan Talebian, head of Tchogha Zanbil Research Center, today’s meeting will be attended by Fariborz Dolatabadi, deputy director of preserving and restoration department of ICHHTO.  

 

Iran’s Ministry of Petroleum was expected to stop its activities until the end of archeological excavations and a series of seismographic tests was due to be performed by Iran’s Ministry of Petroleum in the historic sites of the region to examine their tolerance to shocks and vibrations caused by oil exploration. However, by resuming its explosive activities it seems the Ministry has broken the promises.  

 

The historical site of Tchogha Zanbil was registered in UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1979. Tchogha Zanbil’s ziggurat is the only surviving ziggurat in Iran and is one of the most important remaining evidence of the Elamite Kingdom (3400-550 BC). The site is currently undergoint restoration by the cooperation of Japanese and UNESCO experts. 

  

 

Soudabeh Sadigh

foreigndesk@chn.ir