Tehran, 14 October 2006 (CHN Foreign Desk) -- Archeological excavations in Abou Fondova historical site in Susan Plain, southwestern Iran, are about to start by a joint team of archeologists from Iran’s Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization (ICHTO) and the Oriental Institute of University of Chicago.

 

Abou Fondova historical hill is located on the western part of Susan Plain, 11 kilometers south of city of Susan and on the east side of Karkheh and Shavar rivers. It was one of the most prominent residential settlements in Susan Plain in the fifth millennium BC. This area is consisted of two parts and covers an 11 hectare area.

 

“Considering the large amount of surface clays scattered in the area, Abou Fondova is considered one of the most populated areas in Khuzestan province in the ancient times after Susa and Choghamish historical sites. Enjoying continuous cultural evidence dating back to the fifth millennium BC to the late fourth millennium BC, Abou Fondova is one of the best places to undertake studies to find the origins of ruling powers in Susan Plain,” said Leili Niakan, Iranian head of the joint excavation team in Abou Fondova historical site.

 

Excavations in this archeological site started in 1961 for the first time when an archeologist named Ezatollah Negahban created a small trench to study the Susan Plain. Later in 1973, a surface study was undertaken in the area by Gregory Johnson, current professor of anthropology at CUNY Graduate Center.

 

Now after more than 30 years, archeologists from ICHTO and Oriental Institute of University of Chicago are determined to continue the excavations under the supervision of Leili Niakan and Abbas Alizadeh based on systematic methods.

 

“Undertaking accurate stratigraphy studies in the area could lead us to some valuable historic evidence to classify the discovered clays in a chronological order,” added Niakan.

 

According to Niakan, identifying the relation between the people of Susan Plain and those of Southern Mesopotamia is the main objective behind these excavations. “Excavations in Abou Fondova are also aimed at revealing whether existence of some cultural evidence similar to those of the Uruk Era (mid 4^th to late 3^rd millennium BC, South Mesopotamia) in Susan Plain was the result of cultural relations between the two regions or migration of the South Mesopotamian ethnic groups to this plain,” explained Niakan.

 

 

Soudabeh Sadigh

foreigndesk@chn.ir