Mesopotamia: Iran's Forgotten Civilization

The first human civilizations appeared nearly 5,000 years ago in the Middle East. The first cities, the first religions, the first kings. A radically new organization of societies. And then writing, which brought men into history. Twentieth-century excavations have made the land of Sumer in Mesopotamia, in the south of present-day Iraq, the sole center of this revolution. But during the year 2000, a treasure emerged from a remote valley in the mountains of southern Iran. The magnificent stone vases, witnesses to the existence of another cradle hitherto unsuspected by anyone. The oldest Mesopotamian legends indeed mentioned an ancient kingdom called Arata, protected by high mountains. Yet no archaeologist had ever found any trace of him, and to some, Arata was merely a myth. After five years of drought, a flood of the Alil River had just devastated the land. This treasure that emerged from the ground represented an unexpected opportunity for its inhabitants. Hundreds of families began digging along the banks of the Alilrud. This remote region is crossed by one of the major opium routes coming from Afghanistan. Very quickly, the traffickers converged on the city of Jiroft, for a few hundred euros, they would buy these objects whose value on Western art markets could reach several hundred thousand euros. A full year will pass before Iranian authorities realize the extent of the tragedy unfolding here. In early 2001, Tehran dispatched an armed contingent to secure the region and put an end to the trafficking. A month later, Professor Youssef Majidzadeh was called upon to examine a first batch of 200 objects seized during the arrest of a trafficker. This specialist in Mesopotamian culture is far from imagining what awaits him. The first time I saw these objects, I nearly had a heart attack. My heart stopped beating for a few moments. The style of these objects is familiar to him. Fragments of objects of this type have been found at various sites from the third millennium, thousands of kilometers apart. In temples in Mesopotamia, in Oman on the Arabian Peninsula, as well as along the banks of the Indus River and as far as Afghanistan. Their origin remained a mystery to archaeologists. The quantity of those seized here leaves no doubt about their origin. It is in this valley that they were manufactured. And this simple observation opens up dizzying perspectives. I cannot describe the emotion I felt upon discovering these objects. They contradicted everything I had learned throughout my entire life as an archaeologist. I saw something there that does not exist in Mesopotamia. A much more sophisticated art than that of Mesopotamia. The finesse of these reliefs, carved nearly 5,000 years ago in soft stone, chlorite, Prove that in the third millennium there existed another culture, at least as developed as that of Mesopotamia. Isolated from the rest of the world by mountains over 4,000 meters high and vast desert expanses, The valley where they were discovered is an oasis of greenery located midway. between the two oldest centers of civilization in the Middle East, Mesopotamia and the Indus. This 400-kilometer-long territory has practically never been explored by archaeologists. except for a small hill, Tepeyaya, excavated in the 1970s, who had provided the traces of a village from the third millennium. But this time, it is in the widest part of the valley, about thirty kilometers south of the city of Jiroft. that the inhabitants seem to have made the bulk of their discoveries. It took several months for Iranian authorities to regain control of the region. And when Professor Majid Zadeh finally arrives on site, he discovers a true massacre. They are vast cemeteries that plunderers have devastated. The number of these gaping pits suggests that a phenomenal quantity of objects was extracted from these tombs. But it also proves that a significant population lived here 5,000 years ago, something nobody had previously imagined. It's sad, very sad. We have lost a great deal of information. Objects, of course, but above all, a great deal of information. We have no skeleton, no bones to study, nothing anymore. We do not know who they were or what connection existed between them. We know nothing about their illness or their religion. The three largest graveyards that were looted are located near a small village called Konar Sandal. On its terrain, two imposing hills dominate the landscape. On the surface, a multitude of pottery shards reveals the presence of remains from the third millennium BCE. Perhaps it's just another village like Tepeyaya, but these hills are enormous. And the professor has an inner conviction that this discovery is of an entirely different magnitude. Four of the oldest Mesopotamian legends mention a fabulous kingdom named Arata. An ancient Eldorado that the Sumerians coveted for its power and wealth. No archaeologist has ever found Arata. Yet, one of these legends provides very concrete clues about the route taken by a messenger. the king of Uruk sends to the king of Arata demanding his submission. The land of Sus and then the land of Anshan became as small as mice to greet Inanna's messenger. In the high mountain ranges, all prostrated themselves in the dust as he passed. He crossed five mountains, six mountains, seven mountains And he did not raise his eyes again until he was in sight of Arata. In 1976, Youssef Majidzadeh published an article that deduced these indications That Arata was supposed to be precisely in this southern region of Iran. How could he possibly think these remnants are not those of the legendary Arata? In November 2002, the Iranian Cultural Heritage Organization He entrusted him with the direction of the excavations throughout the entire Halilroud valley. It brings together an international team composed half of Iranian archaeologists. and half of specialists from American and European universities. The excavation site is located in the city of Jiroft, 25 km north of the archaeological sites. The situation has a particular flavor for him. In 1984, accused by the Islamic regime of being counter-revolutionary, He must have left Iran for France, the homeland of his wife. Eighteen years later, due to his unique skills during this period, The Iranian authorities insisted that he accept leading this search. The construction site is enormous. Nearly 200 workers from nearby villages were trained for this occasion. Twelve surveys are open simultaneously on the two sites. Very quickly, impressive walls of sun-dried bricks appear on the surface of the higher of the two hills. A stratigraphic trench allows one to glimpse the nature of the remains that compose it. We came across an ancient mound nearly 10 meters high. on which stand the remains of a structure 11 meters high. It is a single building, dating from a single period. It must have been gigantic for it to still have such a height remaining. A little over a kilometer away, the second site is severely damaged. Her land had been used to fill in the nearby palm groves. What remains of the hill seems to be nothing but a huge pile of raw bricks. Yet the regularity of their alignment reveals a surprising mastery of construction techniques. We calculated that there must have been nearly 5 million bricks. And their alignment is perfect. It's incredible that masons from that era were able to design such a structure. These engineers were truly geniuses. In fact, this monument appears to consist of several platforms stacked one on top of the other. A structure reminiscent of the pattern found on certain chlorite vases. It's a step pyramid, but it's enormous, gigantic—400 meters by 400 meters. In Mesopotamia and Elam, pyramids of this type have been discovered at numerous sites. They are thought to be religious monuments. In Mesopotamia, they are called ziggurats. However, the oldest one dates only from the very end of the third millennium, and none of them exceeds 120 meters in base. With a first level of nearly 400 meters, it would therefore be several centuries older and far larger than any structure of this type known to date. Removing this monument represents 20 years of work. That is why we have sought the assistance of many countries. This is an international archaeological issue we have here. The entire site already provides an incredible amount of the most diverse materials. And Youssef Majidzadeh already knows that Iran's archaeological resources will not be enough. From the very beginning, I knew this discovery would transcend borders. Its remnants concern the entire world. A civilization does not belong to a single nation. What is at stake here is the development of the first human cultures, the first human civilizations. Due to its long-term isolation and the emphasis placed on Islamic culture, Iran lacks specialists of the third millennium. That is why the professor ensured the collaboration of one of the world's leading specialists in Oriental glyptics. The former Olly Pittman from the University of Pennsylvania. My main objective is to train a new generation of Iranian archaeologists. to confront what, in my opinion, is one of the richest archaeological sites in the world. The further the campaign progresses, the more the site fully vindicates him. At the foot of the great hill, trench number 6 meets remnants of a different nature. A residential complex. Very quickly, the connection with the objects from cemeteries becomes evident. Gentlemen, we found this stone in the ground with Mr. Salari. Be very careful not to overlook things like this while searching. It must have been the eye of an animal or a human that they used on the stone vessels. Majid Zadeh then decided to open additional surveys 700 meters from the hill, in the direction of one of the great cemeteries that had been looted. He immediately encounters abundant traces of occupation. The dwellings actually appear to extend in all directions around the two hills. From here, one can glimpse numerous small mounds all the way to the opposite hill. These small bumps are exactly like the ones found here, where we discovered dwellings. This means that the entire area was a vast city. This city undoubtedly extended as far as the boundaries of the great cemeteries. Generally located at the gates of cities, and was to encompass the former course of the Halilroud. A gigantic perimeter for a city of the third millennium. Meanwhile, during the excavation, Professor Majid Zadeh entrusted his assistant, Mr. Soleimani, with the duty of carrying out a systematic exploration of the entire course of the Halilroud. This valley contains an incredible amount of traces testifying to a strong human presence in the third millennium. At present, we have identified approximately 5 or 600 archaeological sites. Between 10% and 15% of these sites date from the Islamic period, but all the others are prehistoric. Even the most remote places in the mountains, today virtually deserted, seemed to have been occupied at that time. There are cobblestones in the earth, ancient cobblestones. These cobblestones show that there is a cemetery here. There are many of them; the mountain is full of them. There are often pieces of pottery around here—have you seen any? Yes, I've seen it. This first season of excavation ends with a certainty. This city, gradually emerging from the earth, was the heart of a vast kingdom that flourished here 5,000 years ago. A huge missing piece in the great puzzle of the origins of our civilizations. It is a civilization built by animals. This civilization had been completely forgotten, erased from history. Today, she is gradually reappearing. It has just begun to emerge, and it's magnificent. The discovery of this new actor is overturning all of Middle Eastern archaeology. Who were these men? To what degree of development had their culture reached? What role did they play in the emergence of the first civilizations? If a civilization was able to develop in the heart of these mountains, It is undoubtedly because, in the third millennium, this valley, perhaps even more than that of Mesopotamia, presented all the characteristics of an ideal cradle. My first impression, when I discovered this valley, was that of a small Mesopotamia. It was an alluvial plain, a very fertile agricultural land. traversed by a river that was both a source of life, but also an unpredictable natural element, who forced men to be creative in order to survive along these shores. To try to understand just how far the inhabitants of this city had managed to tame these riches, New specialists have joined the team. Marjan Majkour is a paleozoologist. She is studying the animal bones discovered at the site. Margaretha Tenberg, she is interested in plant residues, in particular the seeds and charcoal collected from the dwellings. From their research, an image gradually emerges of a culture already highly advanced on the path toward urban civilizations. So I'm currently looking at raw breaks coming from the site, And what I see inside is, among other things, small fragments of barley that are caught in there. And here we have cereals that are being cultivated. Here, as in Mesopotamia, people were already practicing agriculture. And it appears they have also abandoned hunting in favor of animal husbandry. What I see here at the moment is essentially goat herders, that is to say, sheep and goats. There are a lot, a lot of cattle and goats in fact at Konar Sandal. It is essentially domestic. Evidently, there wasn't much hunting activity. which is relatively, I would say, normal and not very surprising for an urban site of this type. It's fascinating for us to be so close to the human being and his gestures. In the end, we can truly imagine the person who was there. But the remnants of the meals of these pastoral cultivators They also learned that they did not content themselves with the resources of their valley. and did not hesitate to go far to obtain the products they appreciated. There are indeed relatively significant and constant fish waters. And again, fish are consumed, of course. And it's fascinating for me to think that we're 300 kilometers from the Persian Gulf. And at the time, they still managed to get all these products delivered. The charcoal found at the site even suggests that these men may have invented it and then exported it to the Persian Gulf A type of crop that subsequently became vital in all desert and semi-desert regions. In this sample, I found grape seeds that appear to be wild. There are also carbonized date pits coming from this kitchen, from this house. Therefore, it is particularly interesting precisely for the question of the presence of the Athier palm tree in the past, in the Bronze Age. The palm tree of Athier is today one of the treasures of the valley. and its numerous depictions on chlorite vases suggest that he was already playing an important role in the third millennium. The first time we see the cultivation of the Athier palm, It's rather on the other side of the Persian Gulf, in the Aumans Peninsula, And this is from the beginning of the third millennium. But in fact, the palm tree from Athier may have already been cultivated here. and there was a kind of introduction in the Aumans peninsula precisely from that region. Such an introduction would presuppose that this civilization had not remained isolated in these mountains. but had come into contact with other contemporary cultures. Or, in mid-February, a trench located at the foot of the large hill begin to provide new evidence that supports this hypothesis. The impressions of seals, Olly Pitman's specialty. Seals are characteristic products of ancient Eastern civilizations. They appear as early as the seventh millennium BCE. Here is an example of a seal. It is made of stone, with a handle on one side, and a pattern is carved on its flat surface. The impression of a seal, applied to the clay that sealed a vessel, was an official document that identified the owner of the content. In the third millennium, exchanges primarily concerned raw materials. And each city, each region, produced a type of seal with motifs unique to itself. Or here, these patterns exhibit an exceptional variety. There are motifs and forms connected to Mesopotamia to the west, to the Indus Valley to the east, perhaps in the north, in Bactria, or in Afghanistan and to the south, in the regions of the Persian Gulf. Thus, there were men here who had come from these various regions. to search for raw materials, which they then brought back home. This city was thus at the heart of a vast network of exchanges. which involved the entire civilized world of the time. But what were the representatives of these distant kingdoms seeking here? And why was this activity concentrated at the foot of the mysterious structure on Great Hill? In Mesopotamia, it was in administrative buildings, under the supervision of princes or priests where transactions were carried out and seals were affixed or broken. Since their discovery, Professor Majid Zadeh It concentrated a large part of its resources on expanding this trench. She finally gives him the key that allows him to understand. the nature of the building housed within the hill. Here is the west façade of this monumental building. It faces the old bed of the Halil River. And there, we can see that it's the entrance, because on the right, the enclosing wall ends. It appears that this access describes a 90-degree curve. upon entering the building. This year, we managed to advance between 15 and 20 meters. inside this gigantic structure. The man who had it built and who has lived within this monumental architecture was certainly not an ordinary person. He was part of a ruling class. He might have been a king, perhaps the king of Arata. This building was a huge fortress constructed on two levels. This exceptional architecture for its time is undoubtedly directly inspired by the patterns on these vases. And for archaeologists, it is additional evidence the sophistication that this civilization had achieved. Imagine yourself in a palace atop this hill And in the evening, you sit on the terrace and you gaze upon this landscape. It is truly very beautiful. It is another independent and autonomous civilization. which flourished here at the dawn of the third millennium. So, the idea that this place could be the Arata of the Sumerians, which they describe as another Mesopotamian city, is very remote, yet seems entirely plausible. To try to protect this archaeological treasure from further looting, Professor Majid Zadeh has devoted all his spare days to give lectures in the villages of the valley. And this approach is yielding results. The police are effective temporarily, but not over the long term. The best thing is to educate people, to teach them what cultural heritage is the true value of these remnants. The schools in the region are coming to visit the sites. and question the archaeologists. And these same families, who but a year ago They were digging here in search of treasures, They are going there today for a walk on Friday. People from the village come to see me with objects in plastic bags. Tell me, professor, I'm sorry, here's what we had at home, I hope you will kindly accept it. Professor Majid Zadeh is counting heavily on this third campaign. but it begins under bad omens. I hope it isn't raining at the sites, Otherwise, we will have to interrupt the search. You are researchers, you are archaeologists. The work you are doing is not the work of a construction worker. Now, here, after us, if God wills, There may be searches throughout the year. The first thing they will do is come to see you. to ask you to pick here, as you are familiar with the work. And now, are you going home? When you work here, the equipment, You're going to your fields this afternoon, aren't you? So you're not unemployed; it's us who are. Rain is rare in this semi-arid region. It instantly transforms the excavation site. in an impracticable swamp. All of its remains are made of sun-dried bricks. in other words, on dry land. Water, then the temperatures, which can reach up to 50 degrees here, irreparably destroy all structures that the excavation had exposed to the open air. It's not that serious, it's not that serious. But we searched here last year, And there, two years ago, And there it is destroyed, there too. Each year, we only have one piece of the excavation. One can never have a complete overview, and that is important. Fortunately, the rain never lasts long here. And when the work resumes, a pit located at the edge of a platform at the back of the palace suddenly began to produce a large quantity of bucket impressions, accompanied by the most diverse debris. The place being searched by Mrs. Golamy is a pit. that is, a trash can located at the edge of a platform. And in this pit, numerous clay cups are found, bones, charcoal, and pottery shards. It's the kind of debris one sweeps up after a day's work. Among the wastes from this ancient trash can, Holly Pitman identified traces of the activities that were taking place on this platform. In this pit, she also found beautiful small fragments of stone beads. and jewelry made of semi-precious stones. That is what makes me think that this platform It was a workshop for manufacturing small luxury items made of stone. Of the nature of bucket impressions, She deduces that this craftsmanship was at the heart of the exchanges that took place here. On had baskets that were closed with pails, small boxes, small bags. It seems that many small packages were sealed here. It seems to me that all these little precious stones were counted and weighed here. On a also found weights which show that they controlled the quantities of these products. This discovery brings archaeologists to reconsider a strange pile of stones which had collapsed during the first season during the excavation of the stratigraphic trench and to which no one had really paid attention. Once cleaned and sorted, These stones reveal their true nature. On the entire set of rocks, metals, and minerals which could give rise to an artisanal activity, at the time of commercialization. And all the stones necessary for this craft are located within a radius of 100 km around Connard-Sandal including the very beautiful chlorite who enabled the creation of the vases found in abundance at the site. Preserved within the very confines of the citadel, this raw materials inventory was undoubtedly the key to the mysterious trade who attracted merchants from all over the world here. The gathering and shaping of these stones were certainly the specialty of this kingdom. Or, in the Mesopotamian legend, This is what King Dorouc demands from Arata as a sign of submission. Let the people of Arata bring here the stones from their mountains, that he cuts perfect stones from the lazuli blocks on the track, that they build for me a divine temple in honor of Inanna and that they decorate the interior with them. Given the dispersion of the chlorite vessels, the reputation of the stonemasons of Halilrud Had she also reached Mesopotamia? Among the impressions of seals, Holly Pitman discovers new evidence of the originality of their talent. Suddenly she sees a certain type of pattern appear that she had never encountered before. It is a very refined style, based on original iconography and forms. And I think we have here two or three great masters of engraving. who demonstrate incredible imagination and create striking images of vitality and energy. The style of these seals, as sophisticated as that of chlorite objects, Demonstrate the extraordinary creativity of the artists from the Halilrud Valley. To Professor Majid Zadeh, This exceptional talent may perhaps be one of the keys to influence. that this civilization exerted upon its time. Nowhere else in this region of the world can one find Such imagination, such creativity. And at that time, as today, When products are exported, ideas travel with them. Certain recurring elements in this iconography in fact appear to illustrate legends that only appears much later in Mesopotamian representations. The legend of Etana is not documented in Mesopotamia. from the very end of the third century. She recounts how she took revenge on an eagle a snake that had devoured its young, advised by a god, hid himself in a carcass to ambush his enemy there. Seeing these images of a cow attacked by an eagle and this confrontation of two snakes and an eagle, It occurred to me that it must be the story of Etana. five or six hundred years before the Mesopotamians They do not represent her in their leap. Likewise, the Epic of Gilgamesh, perhaps the most important Mesopotamian legend, features a male scorpion character, Guardian of the Mountain of Hell. Or, throughout all of Mesopotamia, Only one photograph of him has been found. In the Halilrud Valley, The scorpion man appears dozens of times on the vases. For the professor, All these signs suggest that this culture developed during Mesopotamia and that she was able to influence him in many areas. When the results of the geophysical surveys carried out at the sites reach Éric Fouach, It seems to confirm this intuition. One can clearly see it appearing in red, brown, a basement level that is the topography on which the men with dirty sandals have settled while above, there are twelve meters of deposits which are almost certainly entirely archaeological deposits. It becomes visible at a depth of one meter geometric structures that cannot be anything other than walls. And at two meters in depth that the anomalies are not arranged in the same way, This clearly shows that we have multiple generations of remains. and thus an ancient foundation of the site. The basement of assholes' sandals could therefore contain traces of occupation earlier than the oldest Mesopotamian remains. According to geophysicists, There could be archaeological remains up to twelve meters in depth. which means that these men did not settle here five thousand years ago, But perhaps ten thousand years ago, we still don't know. This revelation occurs at the very end of the 2005 campaign. On the site, almost all trenches have been closed. except for that of Mr. Soleimani, at the entrance to the palace. It is then that an incredible twist occurs. Professor, we have just found a piece of fired brick. Can you come? On this piece of fired brick, the first discovery at the site, These signs are clearly engraved. There is no doubt about it; this is an archaic inscription. Give it to me, please. Was it you who found it? That's good, thank you very much. Everyone hoped for it, but no one dared to believe it. And this time, the proof is here. This civilization had also already developed writing at the dawn of the third millennium. Hello. So, how did the day go? Not bad, I brought a little gift. A surprise, for me? Bravo! Where does it come from? It was Nader Soleimani who found it. In the fortifications, near the gate. What do you think? It is a monument plaque. It's linear Elamite, but it seems even older. Linear Elamite is a writing system whose few examples have been discovered on the Iranian plateau. Unfortunately, it has been only partially deciphered to date. And this inscription appears older than any previously known versions. The possibilities opened up by this discovery are so staggering that, for now, Olly Pitman chooses to laugh about it. I think I can read A-R-A-T-T-A. Arata It is in the most recent layer that we found this writing. And below that, we have another twelve meters of archaeological deposit. We therefore have every chance of finding older versions. Who knows, perhaps one day we'll discover that writing was invented right here. I'm not asserting anything, but one never knows. The city of Giroft hopes much from this past, which today lifts it out of anonymity. In February 2005, she enthusiastically hosted an international seminar dedicated to the relics of the Halilroud Valley. Over 2,000 people from all over the region attend its inauguration. Archaeologists from around the world discover at this occasion these very real remnants of one of the oldest cities in the world. Perhaps only a legend had preserved the trace. It will undoubtedly take dozens of years of excavation to unravel all the mysteries of this civilization. But Professor Majid Zadeh's dream is coming true a little more each year. It's almost frightening. I dare not speak about the upheavals this site will bring, because nobody will believe me. Perhaps we will never know for certain whether this city is truly the one the Mesopotamians named Arata. Yet no one can anymore claim that Mesopotamia was the sole cultural center of the Middle East. This other cradle has already found a place in human memory. Today, all countries, all worlds know that something similar existed in Iran 5,000 years ago. Where is Iran? There is no Girod, there is no Astan, there is no Kerman.