Burnt City yields 52 ancient skeletons

The 12th phase of Burnt City archeological excavations in Iran's southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan Province has yielded 52 skeletons. According to Iranian anthropologist Farzad Forouzanfar most of the 5,000-year-old remains belong to children between the ages of 1 to 12, who have died because of infectious or contagious diseases or microbial contamination. "As there is no evidence of bone fractures in the skeletal remains, these children most probably perished due to infections which were very common in the prehistoric era,” Forouzanfar explained. "The remains also include three skeletons belonging to 50-, 55- and 60-year-old females, and four skeletons belonging to men between the ages of 45 and 50," said Forouzanfar. Led by Seyyed Mansour Seyyed Sajjadi, the 12th phase of Burnt City archeological excavations started last month. Earlier in the 12th phase, archeologists found 12 ancient graves, which are believed to be unique among the discoveries of the past 30 years. Over 400 prehistoric sites have been excavated in Burnt City and archeologists expect the number to reach 1,000. The 5,000-year-old Burnt City is located near the city of Zabol and spans an area of over 300,000 hectares. Four civilizations have lived in the city which was burnt down three times and not rebuilt after the last fire. The world's oldest animated picture, dice and backgammon set, the earliest known caraway seed and artificial eyeball have been found in Burnt City.