A new season of archeological excavations of the historical port of Siraf has started in collaboration with the University of Tehran and with permission from the National Archeology Research Institute, starting from May 2022.
According to the Aria Heritage Report and the Public Relations Department of the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts of Bushehr Province, Seyed Mehdi Azarian, Director of the National Cultural Heritage Site of Siraf, announced this news on Sunday, May 29, 2022: “The ancient port of Siraf Has played a significant role in the commercial affairs of southern Iran and much has been written about this port in historical scripts.”
He continued: “This ancient port was first officially excavated in 1966, by archeologists of the joint Anglo-Iranian group led by Professor White House and representatives of the Archaeological Center of Iran for seven seasons. The last chapter of the excavation carried out in Siraf is related to 2009, which Mohammad Ismail Ismaili headed. The result has been published in the form of numerous articles and the book of the ancient port of Siraf.”
Azari added: “After the Persian Gulf National Conference was held, the first stage of the targeted research program of this port was resumed, by obtaining the necessary license from the Archeological Research Institute, coinciding with the cultural heritage week, and with the support of its General Directorate, and the national cultural heritage site of Siraf, headed by Mohammad Ismail Ismaili (member of the academic board of archeology, Tehran University).
The director of the national cultural heritage site of Siraf pointed out: “These excavation will be carried out within 45 days, to find evidence of maritime trade and the situation of the Sassanids in the historical port of Siraf by exploring the central core of the city, around the Grand Mosque and historical fortress.”
He concluded: “We hope that by conducting continuous, consistent and, of course, annual research on these excavations, we can take steps in discovering this ancient port as much as possible and introducing it, in order to prepare the grounds for turning this port into an international museum city.”
