In the sixth season of exploring the waterways of Persepolis in the past few days, the most complete skeleton was found. Also, the tests conducted on the DNA of the skeletons obtained in the previous chapters show that the type of people who were working on the unfinished gate has been recognized as being mostly from the satrapies (states) of the Syrian and Anatolian regions.
Remains of 20 human skeletons (male and female) have been found in six seasons of exploration in the waterways of Persepolis. One of the most complete skeletons was found in the last few days of the sixth exploration season.
According to Ilna, the sixth season of archaeological exploration of the Persepolis waterways is underway under Ahmad Ali Asadi’s supervision. This excavation was carried out in the south yard of Thatcher Palace, which led to the discovery and identification of the remains of a human skeleton (presumably the skeleton of a man).
Ali Asadi, a member of the academic board of archeology department of Shiraz University of Arts, and supervisor of the 6th season of explorations in the waterways of Persepolis, referred to the discovery of this skeleton and its importance, and said: In the past, a human jaw was found near the bottom of the waterway of the Thatcher Palace. It was among the sediments. The jaw indicated it was transported with mud, and its other components were not found. But now a complete skeleton was found on the stone floor of the waterway, which is of great value from an archaeological point of view because findings lying on the floor are of great importance in archeology stratification, both from the point of view of chronology and reconstruction of the trend of events of each finding – here a skeleton is in mind.
He continued: It is believed that this skeleton’s date is after Persepolis’s destruction. The skeleton faces the right side, and the skull faces east. There are three pieces of stone on the skeleton, at least one of which has decorative patterns like the stairs around the Thatcher Palace courtyard. In addition to the found skeleton, many exciting fragments of the broken congresses of the mentioned stairs have also been found in the waterways of the Thatcher Palace yard.
Adadi continued that these pinnacle stones are probably related to the transfer of the building material from the palace, famous as H in Persepolis, and added: “In the achaemenid period there was a palace that considering that its name is unknown to us; hence Schmidt (German explorer) names that palace “G.” There is no information about this palace, but we know that its construction material was used to build a castle in the south of the courtyard of the Thatcher Palace in the post-Achaemenid period.”
He continued: Most likely, during the transfer and relocation, many of the stone steps of the “V” palace were broken and deliberately dumped into the waterways of Thatcher’s yard. We still don’t know why these pinnacles were gradually broken; maybe so they could be moved more easily. Now, we have some of these parts on this skeleton sticking to the bones. Also, we can get the time of death of this skeleton with accurate chronology tests, in this case, we can get the exact time of this operation of moving the palaces because until now, this matter has remained a mystery to us.
The supervisor of the sixth season of exploration in the waterways of Persepolis pointed out that no burial structure (burial pit) was found around the skeleton. However, it is doubtful that the presence of 3 stones along the length of the found skeleton is accidental. Since the excavation is ongoing and considering the visit of an ancient bone pathology expert in the coming days, more unclear facts about this discovery will come to light.
Skeletons in Takhte Jamshid belong to Syrian/Anatolians
Asadi continued: Of course, this is not the only skeleton discovered in the waterways of Persepolis, and in the previous seasons of exploration, nearly 20 skeletons were found in six seasons. But so far, based on radiocarbon tests, they have shown the date of 330 BC, the time range of Alexander’s attack. Of course, some of these data also display the date of 180 BC. Another round of tests is underway to date each case more accurately.
This archeologist point out that the skeletons that date back to 330 BC are most likely related to the events of Alexander’s attack on Persepolis. Of course, it does not mean that these events happened at the same time as the capture of the palace because the exact date is not accurate and generally fluctuates by a few years, but it can make available the events related to the period a few years after Alexander’s attack and the riots that existed. Now, with the tests done on the DNA of the previous skeletons, the people’s race in the unfinished gate has been determined to be more related to the satrapies of the Syrian and Anatolian regions.
The most technical part of the waterways of Persepolis
Stressing on the importance of explorations in the waterways of Persepolis, Asadi said the canals under the Thatchar Palace are among the most technical and precise parts of the channels of Persepolis. Because all these waterways are built with stone blocks. The floor, walls, and ceiling are made of stone blocks and are different from the channels carved into the natural rocks of the mountain.
He concluded: “The accuracy with which these canals were carved is no less than the stone carvings in the palaces. Though they lack the fine finishing, but they are the most technical architectural structures under the throne or the canals.”
