It is midday, the sun is shining on the ancient civilization of Damghan, the herd of sheep has arrived, and at the same time, the sound of the train whistle has disturbed the sleep of the seven-thousand-year-old sleepers of the historic hill. This is Tepeh Hesar, one of the most precious heritages of human civilization, registered in the country’s national monuments in 1355. Schmidt, who previously worked in Mesopotamia, Iraq, was commissioned by Pennsylvania University and the museum, as an expert, to the Tepeh Hesar project. He began his excavations in 1933 AD (1312 Iranian calendar).
Dr. Schmidt’s excavations in this area were one of the most extensive excavations conducted in Iran. He explored 11,000 square meters of Tepeh Hesar with 200 workers. In his valuable findings, he found 1,637 tombs with all kinds of wonderful burial works, most of them sent to the University of Pennsylvania and museum of arts in Pennsylvania. Some became part of Mrs. Thompson’s collection (Schmidt’s financial support in the Damghan project).
Schmidt defined Tepeh Hesar and the three historical periods: from pre-historic upto the historic period. Although he shed light on a part of the unknown and obscure history of Tepeh Hesar, but left many questions unanswered.
Why most of the buried bodies were under the age of puberty, and few of them were over 50 years old? Why is the number of dead men buried twice as many as women? Why are the bodies buried next to their belongings? Was the cross sign on the seals and burials being done facing the sun signs of Mithraism, in Hesar? What was the religion, culture, language, and race of the early periods of Tepeh Hesar, and what connections did the people of Hesar have with other Iranian civilizations, such as Silk Hill civilization, Shush, Jiroft, Shahre Soukhteh, Tepe Hasanlu, etc.?
After 80 years, in 2011 AD, the documents of this American archeologist were translated into Persian, in the form of a book, by Kurosh Roostayee, and made available to Iranian researchers.
62 years later the ancient civilization of “The ancient 100 gates” was handed over to an archeologist who, after starting digging, never left the site. In those days, no one knew what important historical secrets this archaeologist would pull out of the soil.
The third season of Tepeh Hesar excavations began in 1374 by a team headed by Esmail Yaghmayi. This archeologist found signs that Schmidt had hoped to find. The most important is one of the exceptional burials in history, the skeleton of a mother and a baby who died during childbirth. Archaeologists believed this skeleton was 4,000 years old. They moved it to the Garmabeh Pan Museum in Semnan for protection and display. In this season, Yaghmayi also found a relic of Babylonian cuneiform inscriptions from 2,000 BC, which show the cultural connection of this region with Mesopotamia.
It wasn’t in his fate to enjoy the satisfaction from the unique discoveries that he had made, and he, who after his research knew well what secrets this ancient site had hidden in its heart, faced a major disaster; the news came that the second rail of the Tehran-Mashhad railway line was going to pass over the Tepeh Hesar. Yaghmai, employed by the Cultural Heritage Research Institute and knew the irreparable damage this decision had, was left alone to fight against this anti-cultural decision.
Yaghmayi was left alone, and the cultural heritage organization issued the permit to build the train tracks and made him retire early.
Yaghmayi wrote his memories of exploring Tepeh Hesar in the book “Gisovan Hezarsaleh” and these memories are well recounted in a documentary named “Iran, through millennium”, directed by Pejman Mazaheripour, produced by the documentary channel of Iranian TV.
The last field research of Tepeh Hesar, however, was conducted from Shahrivar to Azar 2006 under the supervision of Kourosh Roustayi to determine the boundaries of this area. In three seasons of excavations Roostayee explored a small part of Tepe Hesar and revealed other unknowns, traces of settlement in the iron age, in the southern and western corners and also traces of a permanent river on the side of the hill.
Civilization sleeping in Hesar, awaiting world registration
It is noon, the bus stops, and dozens of tourists get off to visit the 7,000 years old mound. They stand in front of a worn-out introduction board and start complaining that the text on the board is unreadable due to sun and wind.
No one has come to welcome the visitors of this national site; the cabins set up as guards’ rooms, are empty and in poor condition proves that they have not been used for a long time. The tourists’ note is not clear, and there are no signs, or even warning signs and warning signs in the historical hill area; there is no guide to answer the questions of eager and curious visitors. On the left side, you can see the building site built in 1396 to become a research site, an empty and dilapidated building whose doors cannot even be opened to use the restrooms. Motorbikes are racing free in the main area of this historic hill, and agricultural land expands as far as the eye can see.
A cultural heritage activist, who is accompanying a group of tourists, explains about the state of the mound that has been nationally registered in Semnan province: “Unfortunately, concerned authorities do not care about protecting the hill, there is no permanent protection, fence, etc., and the herds pass through the middle of the hill for grazing. Every now and then we see local motor cyclists who have caused much damage: for example, a skeleton that was seen on the ground until a few years ago and disappeared under the wheels of motorcycles due to negligence. Unfortunately, agricultural fields are growing daily like mushrooms on Damghan Tepeh Hesar, and the crops have even reached parts of the Sassanid palace.”
Referring to the importance of preserving and guarding the ancient hill of Damghan, he says: This old hill is known as a scientific reference of the Iron Age hills in the world, and by diverting the rail track, hopes for global registration will be revived.
This cultural heritage activist continues: The first railway track was laid nearly 90 years ago, and the second one in 1374 on Tepeh Hesar; fortunately, despite the resistance that existed in the past, we are now witnessing the formation of cooperation from the railway side, and the city officials did good follow-up on this matter and finally, the research work on moving the railway track was approved during the previous visit of the president to Semnan province. After supporting this research project, the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage signed a contract with the Road and Urban Development Research Center of the Ministry of Road and Urban Development, which led to valuable research work for this area.
He said: “In this research project, with the help of seismography, they have found out that the trains’ constant passage has caused severe damage to the area and the ancient artifacts; and this goes on due to the daily passing of nearly 80 trains on this route. In this plan, 8 paths were examined. Three initial ways were too long and were eliminated. Finally, two ways were considered. One of these routes is the same sandy road at the end of Tepeh Hesar. This sandy road leaves the railway station and goes under the bridge again after two kilometers.”
He continues: This sandy road is not much of a problem from the point of view of ownership, and it is also the shortest route to change the railway track. The cost of implementing this project is estimated at 75 billion tomans. Of course, it should be added that public groups and private companies have declared their readiness to do the infrastructure works for free. There is no need for the railway to pay.
This activist says that implementing the railway relocation plan requires serious follow-up and efforts by the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism and related officials and the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development. The agricultural land around it is cheap and can be bought with mutual cooperation.
It is still midday, and the autumn sun shines on the pale face of Tepeh Hesar, a face that is no longer the same as a few years ago; adventurous tourists go up and down the hills of the historical area from all sides and the abandoned pieces of pottery crumble under their feet. I look around and think that despite all the efforts made, Tepeh Hesar still needs much more protection and archeological excavations, its essential knowledge about our history to be available through research, but if only the destructive vibration of trains, the agricultural fields, and the stumping of cattle and motor bikes would allow.
