The ancient history of Izeh, facing destruction

The looting of ancient sites in broad daylight, buying and selling of metal detectors, news about successive violations of privacy, and indifference to the conditions of cultural heritage are only a part of the visible and hidden wounds of the city of Izeh.
In an interview with ISNA, Faramarz Khoushab, the secretary of the Izeh Cultural Heritage Lovers Association, listed the visible and hidden wounds of the historical monuments of Izeh and continued: The incident is too clear to leave room for concealment, the ancient expanses of the city of Izeh, being looted in broad daylight, in the absence of even a single manager or official is being looted, and there is no news from the protection unit of the General Administration of Cultural Heritage of Khuzestan, nor is there any reaction from its provincial managers.
Recalling the unfortunate events that happened in the historical areas of Izeh city, he said: the news is evidence of the most painful period dominating over the history of the cultural heritage in Khuzestan.
The secretary of the Izeh Cultural Heritage Lovers Association continued: In the present situation, the people of Izeh have serious demands from the governor of Khuzestan and the minister of Cultural heritage to form a fact-finding committee to immediately investigate the disastrous dimensions of countless excavations and encroachment on historical areas in this city.
He added: following the destruction and serial excavations in the crisis-prone city of Izeh, another prehistoric area of this city called “Bardboran Hill” has been invaded many times, by unauthorized diggers, and the question that arises is whether the General Department of Cultural Heritage Is Khuzestan aware of this issue or not? What is the role of the protection unit against this extent of encroachment with such relaxed mind, and why has there not been any reaction from the cultural heritage managers of Khuzestan in this case or similar cases.
Referring to the fact that the Bardboran Hill is from the 3rd and 4th millennium BC and has been registered under the national number 25997 in 2007 in the list of valuable works of Iranian history, Khoushab added: “A hill with such research values and first-hand knowledge of the pre-historic upto the historic period, and can reveal many untold facts about the initial founding of the city of Izeh and its formation; how could it turn into the smugglers’ backyard so easily, and why is everyone silent?
He continued: Destroying ancient layers by the hands of smugglers means removing a large part of the history of this land, which is now being done by unauthorized diggers, in an atmosphere where there is no control by the authorities over the ancient sites of Khuzestan and they feel free and safe to continue their illegal digging. This situation is devastating and has prepared the ground for creating a national crisis in Izeh.
Insisting on the fact that there are numerous excavations with a depth of more than 10 meters and sometimes 15 meters with advanced tools such as oxygen gas, this cultural heritage activist said: In the past, some extensive diggers were arrested and presented to judicial authorities, but not only did the digging not stop but due to the continuation of the process and speed that it has gained, it has created the suspicion that organized groups of historical artifacts smuggling with detailed technical and historical knowledge of the historical and ancient areas of Izeh have found the opportunity to continue their illegal activities without fear of any prosecution and due to the weakness of the general-administration of Khuzestan.
In the end, he stated: We remind the Minister of Cultural Heritage again that the gradual death of cultural heritage has begun in Khuzestan, the people of Izeh and lovers of cultural heritage are sensitive to these serial events in their city, and this volume of destruction, due to lack of action by the cultural heritage trustees of Khuzestan, and the protection unit based in the city, and wish to pursue their most serious cultural demands. A rightful demand that is expected to be stopped before it turns into a national disaster.

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February 14, 2025