Archaeological findings indicate the existence of 6,000-year-old administrative and accounting management in Kallehkoob in the suburbs of sarayan.
The most important cultural period identified in the site is evidence of the cultural relics of the beginning of urbanization and the fourth millennium BC which in the archaeological world is known as the Uruk or Susa II period, the onset of Elamite.
According to Aria Heritage report and a report of the public relations of the cultural heritage and tourism research institute, Mohammad Hossein Azizi Kharanaghi, Head of the Archaeological Board, announced this news on June 7, 2022: “The third chapter of archeological excavations in Kallehkoob Aysak area, Sarayan city in South Khorasan province is being carried out with the permission of the research institute and financing of the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts of South Khorasan Province.”
This member of the faculty of the Archaeological Research Institute called the site of Kallehkoob in eastern Iran and South Khorasan province one of the few prehistoric sites in this region, which contains archaeological discoveries and sequences of various cultures from the fifth to the second millennium BC.
Based on the research of the experts of the provincial administration in this area, he stated that this area had been determined to be more than 7 hectares. He reminded that in the previous seasons, excavations were carried out in 2018 and 2019 to identify the cultural continuity and stratification of the area.
The archeologist expressed his regret that in the past years and before identification, the owner of the land ruined and leveled the ground and the historical monuments got scattered in a wide area, which made excavation in the region complicated, and added: “In the second chapter in 2019, geophysical researches in this area were carried out in two stages by Kourosh Mohammadkhani, professor of archeology at Shahid Beheshti University, and based on the studies, spots were selected for excavation and continuance of research activities in this area.”
Azizi Kharanaghi added: “From one of the trenches excavated in 2019 (Trench E) in the center of the site, the remains of a tidily laid out brick architecture was identified, but unfortunately, due to lack of funds, further excavation in this area was deferred to the next season.”
He pointed out that in 2022 the third season of excavations in this area have started with aim of expanding the excavations in the trench E site and more accurately identify the remains of architecture found from the previous season.”
The head of the archeological delegation said: “As mentioned, this area has good stratigraphy, but the most important cultural period identified in it is the findings of cultural artifacts from the beginning of urbanization and the fourth millennium BC, which is known in the archeological world as Uruk or Susa II Elamite.”
He added: “The characteristics of this culture are deposited edge pottery, bank trays, nose handle containers, as well as tubular and watershed pottery, which are well known in Mesopotamia, Khuzestan, Central Plateau, and southeastern Iran, but the critical point is that in eastern Iran for This is the first time such historic findings have been made.
Azizi Kharanaghi continued: “After more than ten days from the beginning of the excavation in the third season, more remnants of industrial architecture and brick walls have been identified, as well as pottery that indicate the presence of these cultures and demonstrate that Kallehkoob had reached the level of social complexity and financial resource management.”
The faculty member of the Archaeological Research Institute reminded in the end: “that so far, three seasons of excavation have been done in this area, but mainly due to lack of fund and sufficient financial sources, extensive excavation has not been possible, and I hope that in the coming years, with better funding and adequate financial resources research can continue to identify evidence of sufficient architecture and archeology to be able to determine the characteristics of the historical monuments in this area and complete our study.“
