ABOUT SHAHR i SOKHTA

Shahr-i Sokhta, one of the largest and richest Bronze Age sites in Iran, is located in the southeast of Iran, in the province of Sistan-Baluchestan, 57 km away from the city of Zabol. It has been attracting archeologists for almost a century and this site has been the object of extensive investigations by Italian archaeologists of IsMEO between 1967-1979 and from 1997 by now, has been extensively investigated by an Iranian archaeological expedition. The field studies revealed that this city consisted of three main sections including the Residential Area, the Graveyard and the Craftsmen Quarter and of two sub-sections of Monumental Area and Craft Quarter No. 2, in the southern portion of the graveyard.

The Residential Area reached its maximum of extension in the middle of the third millennium B.C with more than 80 hectares and turned into the largest urban settlement in the Eastern part of the Iranian Plateau. In the half of the third millennium B.C, a number of settlements with extension of 15 - 20 hectares, high ranked expertise and relative abundance of surplus product and food triplicated their original extensions. The excavations of the Iranian archeological expedition have been conducted in 29 Areas mostly in the Residential Area, central part and the Monumental Area (north and northwest of the Central Residential Quarter).  Also, excavation at grave yard which held by Iranian team unearth more than 1000 grave during 16 seasons.  Furthermore, to These excavated areas should be added the areas were explored by the Italians mission before the Islamic Revolution of Iran that include some parts of necropolis, eastern residential area and the south of central quarter as well as Tepe Rud i Biaban and the other small sites around Shahr-i Sokhta.

The main excavated buildings at Shahr i Sokhta  

The main sections of the site based on function

Aerial photo of Shahr i Sokhta

Excavation at Central residential area (Building no. 26)

Building no.1 (Monumental area) with cloudy sky.