Architectural sites and agricultural lands inside the ancient city of Seymareh, western Ilam province, which had been damaged by floods and seasonal rains last year were repaired and restored.
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| Credit: Iranian Ministry of Cultural Heritage |
With a budget of one billion rials (about $24,000), the restoration work has been fully completed, provincial tourism chief, Abdolmalek Shanbehzadeh, announced on Wednesday, CHTN reported.
Seymareh ancient city, with an area of 200 hectares, is located near Darreh Shahr city. It dates back to the Sassanid-era (224 CE–651) and is believed to be built on remnants of the Elamite capital, Madaktu.
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| Credit: Iranian Ministry of Cultural Heritage |
The archaeological findings show that the city included about 5,000 houses with some modern aspects like water distribution system through clay pipes and underground sewers. The city was destroyed and deserted after a huge earthquake around 950 BC. The remnants of the city were inscribed on the National Heritage list in 1931.
Darreh Shahr was once the summer capital of Elamites, a pre-Iranian civilization dated from 2700 to 539 BC. The city also enjoyed centuries of prosperity during the Sassanid era.
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| Credit: Iranian Ministry of Cultural Heritage |
Darreh Shahr and its surrounding regions boast vestiges of Sassanid constructions such as arches, ceilings, alleys and passages that follow a specific order of urban development criteria of the time.
