Mirak historical precinct is now 63 thousand years old

Tehran, Nov 6, IRNA - Continuation of archeological excavations and results of chronological tests in Paleolithic Mirak precinct in Semnan indicates that the oldest layers of this region are 63 thousand years old, Research Institute of the Cultural Heritage and Tourism (RICHT) reported. According to HICHT website 'During the second season of excavations in Mirak Paleolithic zone, leader of the team Hamed Vahdati Nasab said after 10 days of excavations in the second phase the team of archeologists of Iran and France have gained outstanding results in line with predetermined targets. The Public Relations Office of the Research Institute of Cultural Heritage and Tourism (RICHT) quoted Vahdati as saying that the mineralogy group of the team, had succeeded in identifying the source of the raw material used in the precinct in the Paleolithic era in an area 2 km southeast of the zone. Vahdati noted that cultural findings related to the human activities around Hill 8 of the precinct further revealed that the place now known as Hill 8 of Mirak had been a mound with low height in the middle of a shallow pond in the Paleolithic era. He said the most important finding in the second season of the excavations up to now was the new result of the chronology of the zone during the past few years, which indicates that the oldest layers there are about 63 thousand years old. Based on the chronological results of the first season of excavations in Mirak, which is considered to be the first open Paleolithic zone in Iran, the archeologists had earlier put the age of the underlying layers at 40 thousand years. Excavations in Mirak Paleolithic zone will continue for another 20 days upon a permit obtained from RICHT and financial support of Cultural Heritage Department of Semnan Province'. 1378/IRNA