As reported by the Discoveryon academic website on May 18, 2009, archeologists at Iran’s Sialk Mound recently discovered a mysterious burial ritual dated to approximately 9,000 years ago. Sialk is located in the center of Iran.
The ancient Sialk Ziggurat located near the city of Kashan, is generally acknowledged to be tone of the focal origins of technology, industry and even religious thought in Iran. Recentl discoveries have shed new light on the genesis of religious rituals in ancient Iran.
Iran’s Press TV reported on May 11, 2009 that an Iranian-Polish archeological team have come upon a fascinating discovery at Sialk: a mysterious burial ritual.
Hassan Fazeli (the director of Iran’s Archeology Research Center) has stated:
“In this 9,000-year-old practice, four bodies were burned at a heat of 400 to 700 degrees. The ash and remains of the bodies were then buried in a jar…Traces of red petals were found in the jar. Archeologists believe red flowers signified life and eternity in ancient Persia…A burial ritual encompassing burning has never been observed in Iran…It makes the rare discovery of great importance“
An ancient skeleton discovered at the Sialk site.
The recent exciting discoveries have resulted in the convergence of a larger archaeological team at the site. These include archaeologists not just from Iran but France, Italy, England and Germany. This new team has been examining the northern mound at the site for a week.
Pottery from Sialk. This particular item has been dated to 1000-800 BC and is now housed at the British Museum.
