German Archaeologists To Excavate Salt Men's Burial Ground In Iran

Following the visit of two Iranian archeologists to Germany and Austria, the condition for a joint cooperation between Iranian and German archeologists was prepared and a team of archeologists of Bochum Mining Museum of Germany is to come to Iran to carry out excavations in Chehr Abad historical salt mine, the burial ground of the discovered famous salt men in Zanjan province.

After signing a memorandum of understanding between Iran's Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization (ICHTO) and Germany's Bochum Mining Museum and defining the budget for this project by ICHTO, this project will officially start, said Roustayi, an archeologist from Iran's Archeology Research Center who went to Germany on behalf of Iran to discuss the criteria for a joint archeological cooperation Iran and Germany.

According to Roustayi, considering that the German team is consisted of a number of skilled archeologists whose area of specialty include those branches of archeology in which few experts are involved, this cooperation is very important for Iran and would result in some great achievements.

"Based on the initial agreements, in addition to three German archeologists who will come to cooperate with the Iranian experts in excavations of Chehr Abad salt mine, a group of experts consisting of physical anthropologists, molecular archeologists, plant archeologists, and a restoration expert will also be dispatched to Iran who will join other experts in Chehr Abad salt mine later," added Roustayi.

During their visit to Germany and Austria, Roustayi, accompanied by another archeologist, Abolfazl Aali, visited many archeological sites and research centers and got familiar with the research methods of archeologists in Hallstatt historical mine in Austria, which according to them is very similar to Chehr Abad salt mine in Zanjan in many aspects. "Although there are some differences between them, we can use the experiences of its archeologists greatly in Chehr Abad mine," said Roustayi.

The news of discovery of four salt men in Chehr Abad mine was widely spread around the world and attracted the attention of archeologists and cultural heritage experts. The first discovery of salt men and their belongings in Chehr Abad mine of Zanjan province goes back to some ten years ago. They are among rare mummies discovered around the world that are mummified as a result of natural conditions. Samples of these salt men have been sent to Oxford and Cambridge universities to implement genetics studies and DNA analysis. The results showed that the first two salt men date back to the Parthian era (150 BC-226 AD) while the other two are believed to have belonged to the Achaemenid period (648-330 BC).

Sexuality of the 2,000-Years-Old Salt Mummy Determined

News Category: Arsacid/Parthian Dynasty (248 BCE - 224 CE)

31 December 2005

LONDON, (CAIS) -- X-ray and CT scan test results of the fourth salt mummy indicate that the body belongs to a 16-year-old male. Prior to this, archaeologists were not sure about the sexuality of this mummy, which was the fourth salt corpse discovered in the salt mine of Chehr-Abad (Chehr-Â¢⤩ in Zanjan province.

This corpse, which is the most intact salt mummy found so far, was discovered last January in Chehr-Abad mine in Zanjan province. Parts of the body have been sent to Oxford University to be dated.

Although the corpse had been called "salt man no. 4", the sexuality of the discovered body had not been distinguished until recently.

All other corpses were certainly male wearing similar cloths, but the last one was dressed more likely as a woman; and since it was much shorter than the rest, experts had supposed that it might have been a woman.

"Radiographic tests on the pelvis of the corpse indicate that the body should have belonged to a man," said Dr. Jalal Jalal Shokuhi, radiologist and expert of ancient artifacts.

"Considering the bone joints and the result of three dimensional CT scans, the age of this salt boy is estimated to be 16 years," added Dr. Shokouhi.

"Many bones were broken due to the high pressure on the corpse. These fractures are less on the chest and ribs and more on the head and skull which have resulted in the change in the form of the skull," he added.

These tests will help to reconstruct the face of the fourth mummy corpse. After the reconstruction of the face, a polymer statue of the salt man can be produced.

"Tests done on the salty body are useful in its pathology," said Manije Hadiyan, an expert of restoration of historical artifacts.

According to Hadiyan, being aware of the sensitive and delicate body parts of the corpse is very important in protecting it while it is being transferred.

The most intact salt body found in Chehr-Abad salt mine was discovered in the part of the mine with the least amount of salt.

Archaeologists believe that the fact that this body was mummified in a place with the least amount of salt, and also that it has remained intact over centuries, have made this body special in compare to the three other salt men found earlier.

A belt, a leather cover containing a bone and a pair of shoes were also found along with the forth salt man in Chehr-Abad salt mine.

The first discovery of salt men and their belongings in Chehr-Abad mine of Zanjan province dates back to some ten years ago.

They are among rare mummies discovered around the world that are mummified as a result of natural conditions.

The fourth salt man, which is the most complete one of all discovered, is now kept in one of the museums of Zanjan city, preserved and kept under proper conditions.

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