© Tehran TimesA team of Iranian, Italian, and Serbian archeologists has unearthed an Elamite clay tablet inside the Burnt City, a rare discovery that gives subtle clues about the interaction between the eastern and western sides of the Iranian plateau during prehistorical times.
The discovery of such [clay] tablets is not bizarre in the western regions of Iran
but the point is that archaeologists have never made such a unique discovery in the easternmost point of the Lut Plain and southeastern Iran, senior Iranian archaeologist Seyyed-Mansour Seyyed-Sajjadi said on Thursday.
Called "Shahr-e Sukhteh" in Persian, the UNESCO-registered Burnt City is associated with four rounds of civilization,
all mysteriously burnt down by catastrophic sets of fire. It is situated in Sistan-Baluchestan province, which was once a junction of Bronze-Age trade routes crossing the semi-arid plateau.
Elaborating on the significance of the discovery, Seyyed-Sajjadi who leads the current excavation on Burnt City, said: "It is the first time that such a significant clay tablet which is an accounting document has been discovered in Shahr-e Sukhteh since 50 years ago when the site underwent archaeological excavation for the first time."
Measuring 11 by seven centimeters, the tablet was found by archaeologist Hossein Moradi some four meters below the surface in the Room 27th of a once residential area, Seyyed-Sajjadi explained.
"The clay tablet bears some signs some of which depict the types and quantity of shipped goods... it also has signs that are still unfamiliar for us."
Arrays of animal and human figurines are amongst other relics discovered recently during the 19th season of archaeology that commenced on November 19 on the magnificent site.
The figurines include various animal designs, especially cows, as well as human statues, which are in the form of sitting women and standing men. Moreover, a kiln has been unearthed as well. However, it is not yet determined to be a pottery oven or a metal smelting furnace, according to Seyyed-Sajjadi.
"So far, four to five percent of Burnt City has been excavated. . . and [conducting surveys on] unexplored areas require a lot of time and funds," according to provincial tourism chief Alireza Jalalzaei.
Comment: Evidence suggests that, over the last few thousand years, international trade networks have been established along with the rise of civilisations, only to then be severed and lost to history with their fall:
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