Posted on 07/23/2007 1:53:00 PM PDT by blam
Iran, Germany, and Britan to Decide on Fate of Salt Men
The fourth Chehrabad salt man
A fear for the future of Zanjan’s salt men and in an attempt to find the best approaches for preserving them, the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Department of Zanjan province will organize a conference with attendance of Iranian, German, and British experts.
Tehran, 23 July 2007 (CHN Foreign Desk) – In an international conference organized by the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Department of Zanjan province, the status of Iranian salt men and the existing problems on the way for preserving them will be discussed by Iranian, German, and British experts. Currently despite all efforts have been made so far for preserving these salt men, the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Department of Zanjan province is worry about the fate of these mummies.
Explaining that this international event will be organized in conjunction with the Research Center of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts, and Tourism Organization (ICHHTO) during the coming September, Farhang Farokhi, head of ICHHTO Zanjan’s provincial department, told CHN: “Unfortunately despite all efforts have been made so far for preserving Iranian salt mummies in Zanjan’s Museum, they are not in a satisfactory situation. Evidence show that they have even being a bit eroded compare to the time they were unearthed.”
Farokhi further pointed that keeping Iranian salt mummies in vacuumed glass coffins which have been done currently is considered a short term alternative for preserving them and it can not last for a long time. Considering the importance of these unique salt mummies, brings into light the importance for finding the best approaches for preserving them for next generations.
Discovery of human beings mummies is one of the most attractive archeological findings all over the world. However, safekeeping them has turned into a matter of controversy for archeologists and no definite approach have been adopted yet for their best preservation.
Due to the existing problems in this regard, Iranian archeologists have decided to stop further excavations in Chehrabad salt mine and if any mummy is discovered accidentally during activities in the salt mine, it will be buried again until the new approaches for preserving them is found. That is just what happened about the sixth discovered salt man.
From 1993 to December 2005, a series of salt mummies were found in the Chehrabad salt mine near Zanjan in northwestern Iran which belong to Achaemenid (550-330 BC) and Sassanian (224-651 AD) dynastic eras. Details of some of them are somehow vague, although some of them have remained almost intact. According to the released reports, four salt mummies were found until November 2006. However, the discovery of two more mummies in 2006 and 2007 raised the number of Iranian salt mummies to 6.
Currently the first discovered mummy is being kept in Iran’s National Museum in Tehran. The next four ones are being kept in Zanjan’s historical laundry, which have been changed into Zanjan’s Anthropology Museum and the sixth one which was recently discovered accidentally during operations in Chehabad salt mine, has been buried again to be unearthed later.
The article linked below is most interesting. However, we cannot post articles from USA Today on FR.
Mythical satyr may be preserved in salt
Satyr? A man's body, naturally mummified within an ancient salt mine, was found in a salt mine outside the Iranian city of Zanjan.
Achaemenid (550-330 BC)? I wonder if any of the mummies are Jewish?........
Why not keep them in salt?
Is this article a Babelfish translation?
Aren’t they self-preserving?
Ahem, you'd have to have a PhD in saltology to think of that.
23.07.2007
Birchbank manuscript
Russian linguists and archeologists have deciphered text, written on a birchbank manuscript, which was found in Staraya Russa town of the Novgorod region and dates back to 14th century.
The manuscript, found earlier in July, contains information about salt collecting, which was one of the main occupations in Staraya Russa.
The manuscript, discovered in Staraya Russa, is the thousandth “message form the past”, found at Novgorod digging site since 1951. Archeologists continue digginds, hoping to find other interesting artifacts from ancient times.
Satyr or not, it’s just not that funny.
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Well, first off, they'll need to get rid of the nut jobs running the country so there are future generations around to see and study them. Otherwise, any preservation efforts, outside of removing them from the country, are moot.
Other than that....
Salt seems to have worked so far.
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