Tehran, 19 November 2006 (CHN Foreign Desk) -- The project to expand Persepolis Museum, which is one of the top priorities of Parse Pasargadae Foundation, will be completed by the beginning of the coming Persian New Year on March 21 with displaying some new historical artifacts in an area outside the complex.

 

“Due to lack of budget and other limitations for expanding the building of Achaemenid museum of Persepolis, Parse Pasargadae Research Center has decided to compensate this shortage with the establishment of an open museum next to Persepolis museum in which newly found historical relics will be displayed for public,” said Maziar Kazemi, interior director of Persepolis historical complex.

 

Considering that Persepolis museum is located within the palace, UNESCO has placed many restrictions for expanding its area. That is why authorities of Persepolis Palace are determined to expand the museum out of the palace. “We are trying to establish this museum for public visit by the coming Norouz (New Year),” explained Kazemi.

 

According to Kazemi, experts of Museum Department of Iran’s Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization are currently busy documenting and categorizing the historical relics which are to go on display in the new extended area.

 

One of the oldest museums in Iran, the Persepolis Museum was established in 1931 after Professor Ernest Hertzfeld, American archeologist, unearthed pillars of the harem (women’s quarter) of the palace of Xerxes, the Achaemenid king. The museum is spread over an area of 350 square meters and it has a main hall and several ancillary halls which contain artifacts from the Achaemenid dynastic era (550 BC–330 BC). Since Persepolis was the capital of the Achaemenid Empire, only artifacts from this ancient Persian dynasty are displayed in the Museum of Persepolis.

 

 

Soudabeh Sadigh

foreigndesk@chn.ir