Tang-e Bolaghi (Fars Province, Iran) is situated some 4 kilometers from Pasargadae, the first capital of the Achaemenids (about 550-330 B.C.) and the residence of Cyrus the Great (the first ruler of the Achaemenids). Pasargadae was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List last July; its palaces, gardens, and the mausoleum of Cyrus are outstanding examples of the first phase of royal Achaemenid art and architecture and exceptional testimonies of Persian civilization.

Village Walls, Tang-e Bolaghi (Courtesy: IranMania)Sadly, some 129 ancient sites in Tang-e Bolaghi will be flooded by the waters of the Sivand Dam by March 2006. A team of Iranian and foreign (Italian, Polish, Japanese, French, German, and Australian) archaeologists were rushed in to save and document the sites. Earlier this month, they found a huge Achaemenid era jug (weighing 50 kilograms!), and also identified some architecture of the homes of the ordinary people during that period.
During the excavations, archaeologists discovered a yard with three rooms around it, which was the style of architecture of ordinary people’s houses in the Achaemenid era. According to the director of the team, Alireza Asgari, the house has a central yard surrounded by several rooms 4 and 5 square meters in area, constructed with cobblestones as well as cut stones. Tang-e Bolaghi is located near the imperial route during this era, and thus might provide a lot of information about the lifestyles during those times.
Tang-e Bolaghi also contains sites from the Neolithic and Paleolithic periods, the middle and late Elamite era (2700-645 B.C.), and the Sassanid era (224-651 C.E.). Archaeologists had also identified 80 sites in the region from the Epipaleolithic period (20,000-10,000 B.C.), including 13 caves and four rock shelters. According to experts, only a small part of the area can be studied before it is devoured by the dam, and at least four years is needed to save the artifacts and gather information at the ancient site. But if the dam is in business by 2006, many sites will be submerged before they are even properly studied :-(:-(.