Tehran, 1 January 2007 (CHN) --
Following the discovery of remaining skeletons of a child in a white winding
sheet from the 2nd Millennium BC
in Taleb Khan Tepe, southeast Iran, archeologists recently unearthed three more
children from the same period at this ancient hill. A number of prehistoric
artifacts and other vessels were also found along with the skeletons.
Announcing this news, Mehdi Miri, head of the team
of archeologists at Taleb Khan Tepe and chairman of the department of archeology
at Zabol University, told CHN that the recent discovery was made by university
students during the third season of archeological excavations at the site.
The first discovery of skeletal remains of a child
at Taleb Khan Tepe was made last month when archeologists found remains of a
girl who was buried at the foot of a wall sometime between 3000 and 2500 BC.
Archeologists were puzzled when they saw the skeleton wrapped in a white
garment, a fact which points to a unique burial method which might have been
practiced at the time at this ancient hill.
Later studies revealed that the skeleton belongs to
a girl who was about 7 years of age at the time of death. Anthropologists also
found the cause of death to have been some kind of severe anemia caused by lack of vitamin B12.
“In addition to this child, skeletal remains of
three other children were found in residential houses [at Taleb Khan Tepe]. One
of the skeletons is so small that archeologists assume it could have belonged to
a fetus,” added Miri.
Architectural remains and several baking ovens were
also found in residential houses in Taleb Khan Tepe, a prehistoric site close to
the ancient Burnt City.
According to Miri, animal statuettes including
heads of birds and a cow as well as those of humans, mostly male figures, were
also unearthed in the area. He further said that the discovered statuettes do
not exhibit much similarity to the one found in the nearby Burnt
City.
In addition, large numbers of clay vessels, stone
tools, and small earthen balls used possibly for counting are among other major
discoveries in the region during the third stage of archeological excavations.
Based on the discovered earthenware, archeologists
concluded that life existed in Taleb Khan Tepe during the second stage of
civilization at Burnt City - that is 4800 years back - and continued to the
first millennium BC. The site was continuously inhabited up until the Iron Age
and was an active village even after Burnt City was abandoned by its inhabitants
around 1800 BC.
View images of some archeological findings during
the third season of excavations at Taleb Khan Tepe here
