The discovery of the “New Bronze Age” in the excavations of the city of Ray

The head of the archeology program of Reshkan Ray Fortress announced the identification of the “New Bronze Age” layer in the archaeological exploration of the historical city of Ray for the first time and requested that the world registration of the ancient city of Ray be given priority and a firm and saving order to revive and save this famous historical city. and the Islamic era to be issued.

“Qadir Afrond”, the head of the archeology program for exploring and determining the area and proposal for the protection of Reshkan Ray Fortress (the center of the historical city of Ray) told ISNA:

dThis year’s program, which is carried out after 17 years of the second season of the archaeologist’s excavation of the Rashkan fortress, in two archaeological boreholes, a detailed layer of cultural materials (grey, plum and pea pottery pieces) of the New Bronze Age (1900 to 1500 BC) was identified At the beginning of the work, and of course since the 80s, the presence of a significant amount of gray pottery pieces in the deposits of the barrow area and even the surface of the historic Sharstan area of ​​Ray was strange and unexpected.

Afrond added:

Our mission in this season is to determine the area and propose the protection of the historical area of ​​Reshkan Fortress or the center of the ancient city of Ray; But unexpectedly, at a considerable depth of a test borehole outside the historical Sharstan of Ray, we suddenly came across many and impressive pieces of gray pottery that were under the middle Islamic layer. Surprisingly, this layer was very detailed and about two meters thick, and except for pottery fragments of a different and unexpected period, no other findings were found!

The supervisor of the exploration and determination of the area and proposal for the protection of Rashkan Ray fortress said:

Initial investigations and then consultation and thinking with expert and experienced archaeologist colleagues turned our initial guess into certainty and it turned out that we are facing an unknown historical period in the magnificent Ray.

According to this archeologist, this newly known and renewed period is clearly the “New Bronze Age” which, according to the history of Iranian archaeological researches and excavations, spans from about 1900 BC to 1500 BC.

Afrond said:

The revelation of this prehistoric period in Ray is very important for all of us expert archaeologists and researchers of Ray archeology. In the past, we always found many pieces of gray pottery on the slope and among the rubble of clay and layered barrages during the surface survey of the central area (Sharistan) of the ancient city of Ray. But we didn’t have any convincing explanation for it, and no archeologist had any justification or explanation about these strange cultural materials before. Now, with this important discovery, it became clear that we are witnessing the bold presence of the 400-year-old Bronze Age in an area at least one kilometer long and spanning several hectares, which will undoubtedly be explored in the next seasons, in the pre-history of Ray and in the distance from the abandonment of the ancient hill of Cheshme Ali. We will look at the dimensions and quality of this identified prehistoric period.

Afrond of this important archeological discovery, emphasizing the need to register the ancient city of Rey as a priority, made this request to the Minister of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts:

The ancient and famous city of Ray, which has been the capital or one of the most important historical cities of Iran at various times; But unfortunately, its magnificent cultural and civilizational heritage has been heavily destroyed, assaulted and vandalized in the last hundred years and even to this day, and as a result of the destruction of the major part of this magnificent heritage, there is no replacement with the construction and passage of the Imam Ali highway through the heart of this ancient city. The drying up of the Ali spring and the nationally registered Soren historical stream as a result of the construction of the 6th subway line, the destruction and destruction of the prominent historical features of Fatah Alishahi, Mount Tabarak, Tobarak Castle, Sadr Islamic Tombs And… and the encroachment on the area and privacy of Bibi Shahrabano’s historical tomb, the historical tower-tomb by Ray’s old cement factories and Tehran’s cement complex, and recently the destruction and encroachment of Ray municipality on the area of ​​the national monument of the mountain of Naqarakhane and the historical cemetery of Zirin Ray, and also The eastern front of the historical city of Ray has occurred in the surrounding gardens, put it on the first priority of the “World Registration Waiting List” and issue a firm and life-saving order to revive and save this famous historical city and the Islamic era and consume energy and spirit. To grant noble and oppressed people a glorious ray.