Archeological surveys to identify, document, and nationally register the historical monuments of the south of elevations of Mashhad led to the discovery of four new collections of ancient petroglyphs.
Mahmoud Toghrayi, the head of the National Register of Historical-Cultural and Natural Monuments of Razavi Khorasan, announced the discovery of several collections of ancient rock paintings in the southern heights of Mashhad.
According to Toghrayi, four new collections of ancient petroglyphs were discovered in the archaeological surveys to identify, document, and nationally register the historical monuments of the southern elevations of Mashhad documented.
He continued: In this collection of ancient petroglyphs, numerous figures such as a ram, an antelope, the image of a man with a bow in his hand, and hunting have been carved on stone surfaces.
Toghrayi added: “in the preliminary investigations, the history of the creation of these images was assumed to be pre-historic and nearly 1000 to 6000 years ago, which is, of course, under investigation.
Referring to the archaeological importance of these cultural-historical works, he reminded us that the ancient petroglyphs represent an essential part of human culture and civilization because they show the thoughts and beliefs of prehistoric people in a visual and documentary form.
The head of the National Register of Historic, Cultural and Natural Monuments of Khorasan, Razavi, referred to the vulnerability of this national wealth and said: “In the past years some of these images have been destroyed by unknown people, for example, some non-professional groups of mountaineers who spray paint on the motifs, causing their destruction. In Torghabeh, Shandiz district, mining stones has caused extensive damage to the areas where their rock paintings, which activities should be stopped.
Toghrayi continued: “After documenting and preserving these images, they will be registered in the list of national heritage and introduced to people as the most important historical tourist attractions in the southern highlands of Mashhad.”
Based on the public relations report of the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts of Khorasan Razavi, he reminded: due to the existence of a large field of rainfed cultivation in these heights called Tathte Mayan and the passage of several historical communication routes from the villages of Binaloud towards Mashhad, so far several reservoirs, The historical fort, stone-paved road, historical aqueduct, and natural water springs have been identified that need o be repaired and preserved.
