Tehran, 28 April 2007 (CHN Foreign Desk) – Construction of Isfahan-Shiraz railway which is known as one of the biggest national projects in Iran, has caused some serious damages to a number of national sites including historical hills in Fars province. This is while according to director of Archeology Research Center, this project was planned by Iran Ministry of Road and Transportation since several years ago, therefore, Iran’s Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization (ICHTO) was supposed to conduct some expert studies on the path of the railway before the project came into force, and authorities of Iran’s Railway Organization should not be blamed for what has happened in Fars province.

 

Announcing this news, Hassan Fazeli Nashli, director of Archeology Research Center told CHN: “According to received records, a number of prehistoric hills some of which date back to 5000-6000 years ago have been destroyed due to construction of this railway.”

 

Cultural Heritage experts and archeologists believe that these prehistoric hills which some of them are located less than 50 meters distance from the railway, ranging in date from Neolithic epoch to Achaemenid (550-330 BC) and Sassanid (224-651 AD) dynastic eras.

 

Based on expert reports, there are some massive stones on the way of the railway which were used as brazier during Sassanian dynastic era and if construction of the railway reaches to this area, the stones will be removed and most probably demolished.

 

What came as a surprise in this regard is the unawareness of authorities of Cultural Heritage and Tourism Department of Fars province as well as the provincial Road and Transportation Department about the damages which have been caused so far to historic sites due to railway construction activities. “Construction of Isfahan-Shiraz railway is a national project; therefore, ICHTO was expected to issue a report on damages which may cause by this project. This is while we have not received anything in this regard yet,” said Jalil Hejazi, director of Fars Road and Transportation Department.

 

He further explained that it is not still late to conduct some research on the path of the railway to 2-kilometer distance of the railway before continuing its construction in an attempt to identify the historical sites exist within the area.

 

Prior to this, construction of Isfahan-Shiraz railway raised many objections among cultural heritage experts who were worry about the negative consequence of the railway on Naqsh-e Rostam historic site. However after many efforts were put to save this historic site, the railway is expected to pass one-kilometer distance from Naqsh-e Rostam historic site in an attempt to reduce its negative effect as much as possible.

 

Soudabeh Sadigh

foreigndesk@chn.ir