Free Republic

All mines need regular reinforcement against collapse, and Hallstatt, the world's oldest salt mine perched in the Austrian Alps, is no exception. But Hallstatt isn't like other mines. Exploited for 7,000 years, the mine has yielded not only a steady supply of salt but also archaeological discoveries attesting to the existence of a rich civilisation dating back to the early part of the first millennium BC. So far less than two percent of the prehistoric tunnel network is thought to have been explored, with the new round of reinforcement work, which began this month, protecting the dig's achievements, according to...

Salt men to undergo surgery TEHRAN, Oct. 27 (MNA) -- The Archaeology Research Center of Iran (ARCI) plans to conduct a series of surgical operations on the ancient salt men of Zanjan’s Chehrabad Salt Mine, the Persian service of CHN reported on Saturday. The project is being undertaken to complete archaeological studies and carry out other scientific research on the unique mummies, ARCI director Mohammad-Hassan Fazeli Nashli said. The operations will be performed on the salt men’s soft tissue and entrails, which have remained intact due to the high quality of the mummification, he added. The project will be carried...

Iran, Germany, and Britan to Decide on Fate of Salt Men The fourth Chehrabad salt manA 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...

British Experts Started Studies on Zanjan’s Salt Men in Iran Salt Man No. 1 found in Zanjan’s Chehr Abad salt mine in 1993 – Picture Courtesy of CAISTwo archeologists from universities of Oxford and York started their studies on the salt mummies found in western Iran. The salt men’s diet, health and age before death will particularly be studied by these experts. Tehran, 26 November 2006 (CHN Foreign Desk) -- After months of negotiations between Iran’s Archeology Research Center and the British universities of Oxford and York, a team consisting of two archeologists from these universities came to Iran to...

German Archeologists to Excavate Salt Men's Burial Ground in Iran Jun 20, 2006 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...

New studies show Fourth Salt Man is 2000 years old TEHRAN, Dec. 23 (MNA) -- The most recent studies on the Fourth Salt Man indicate that the body is 2000 years old, the director of the Chehrabad Studies Center announced on Friday. Recent radiography and CAT scans of the body indicate that the Fourth Salt Man was 15 or 16 years old at the time of death, Abolfazl Ali added. Discovered in the Hamzehlu Salt Mine in early March 2005, the Fourth Salt Man is the most intact of the “salt men” discovered in the mine, which is located near...

Oxford archaeologists want to join studies on Iran's salt men TEHRAN, Sept. 27 (Mehr News Agency) -- The director of an archaeological team working at the Chehrabad Salt Mine in the Hamzehlu region near Zanjan said that a group of Oxford University archaeologists is interested in participating in the study on the salt men found at the mine. "A group of Oxford University archaeologists has prepared a plan, asking to participate in the study, and the Center for Archaeological Research is investigating the plan," Abolfazl Aali told the Persian service of CHN on Wednesday "The archaeologists will be invited to...

Sixth Salt Man Discovered in Chehr-Abad Mine 04 June 2007 Chehr Abad Saltman No. 2. LONDON, (CAIS) -- The sixth salt man was discovered in Chehr-Ābād Mine in Zanjan City. It is likely that a large number of salt men were buried in Chehr-Ābād Salt Mine, said Farhang Farokhi head of Zanjan Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ZCHTO). Five previous discovered salt men are being kept in Washhouse Museum , he added. Based on previous reports, Chehr-Ābād Mine had been used from the Achaemenid dynastic era (550-330 BCE) up to the early of the Sassanid dynasty (224-651 CE). The...