The inscription found in the Marvdasht plain is the first surviving inscription on which the name of the Iranian researcher, Ashu Zarathushtra, has been written.
From the Sassanid period, there are numerous inscriptions in Marvdasht plain, some of which are related to kings and courtiers, and some of them have been written by ordinary people in the heart of the plains and mountains of this area. Among these, inscriptions such as the inscriptions of Ardashir I on the wall of Naghsh-e Rostam, the inscription of Shahpour on a structure famous as Zoroaster’s kaaba, the inscription of Shahpour I shooting in the cave of Sarvan Hajiabad, the inscription of Kartir on the wall of Zoroaster’s kaaba (Naghsh-e rajab), the inscription of the ascension of Kartir in the Naghsh-e Shahriaran (Naghsh-e rajab), the inscription of Shahpur Sekanshah and Soluk the judge in Thatcher Palace are among the inscriptions that are considered as court inscriptions. Common people would carve on cliffs and slops and tops of mountains. Hence, these inscriptions are more vulnerable to damage.
Dr Abolhassan Najafzadeh Atabaki, a freelance researcher, said: “In our research over the past few years, along with Fazlollah Habibi and Najmeh Ebrahimi, we have discovered more than 25 newly written inscriptions, all of which we have read.” According to him, one of the unique inscriptions that we have just discovered about the city of Istakhr and the eastern foothills of Naghsh-e Rostam Mountain is the inscription that we found after reading the names of “Dadar Amehr Spand” (Holy Creator) and “Zarathustra” (The great Iranian messenger) is mentioned.
About the age of this script he explained that the inscription was related to the late Sassanid period, written in the six-line script next to a book by a person named “Mahdad” from the city Istakhr on a natural rock.
Regarding the importance of this inscription, Dr. Atabaki said: “Although the name of Ashu Zarathustra is widely mentioned in Avestan texts and Pahlavi manuscripts and in the poems of poets such as Khaghani, Ferdowsi, Nezami, Rumi, Hafez, but for the first time we saw it written on a rock, which by itself is a unique lithograph.
He concluded: “More than 25 inscriptions that we have obtained include topics such as advice, tombstone inscriptions, astronomy, construction inscriptions, environment (in metaphorical language), etc., which gradually we are publishing them in scientific forums and their news will be available to everyone through the mass media.
Also, Mustafa Rakhshandehkhu, a senior expert in the restoration of historical monuments and an activist in the field of rock restoration, said: “The newly found rock inscriptions, due to their location (on the surface of rocks and mountains) have, on one hand, faced hard environment conditions, such as frost, rain, abrasive particles in the air, wind, etc., and on the other hand because of their being scattered in altitudes and inaccessible spots in the mountains, the standard protection methods (like constant protection) is not feasible. Therefore, these precious artifacts have been exposed to natural adversities and also the ignorance of passersby, each of which have damaged them seriously.”
Rakhshandehkhu added: “One of the most important damages that have affected these valuable works is the phenomenon of scouring.” Water-soluble minerals are washed away by rainwater, and insoluble minerals remain on the rock, so the stone has a porous appearance and a suitable place for absorbing contaminants and salts into the rock.
In this regard, Babak Parsa Jam, a tourist guide, spoke about the need to transfer this inscription to the museum and added: “Unfortunately, these historical monuments are occasionally looted and damaged by profiteers, and to preserve this inscription, it must been immediately transferred to the museum.”
