A recent storm revealed a new stretch of the Fahraj Spice Road—an ancient route considered older and more significant than the Silk Road—near Mil Naderi in Fahraj, Kerman Province.
The Spice Road in Fahraj County was first exposed in the late 2010s, when a powerful storm unearthed it from beneath the desert sands. To date, about 40 kilometers of the road have been identified. In the past month, another storm has brought to light an additional portion of this historic route.
Hamid Vahidzadeh, head of Fahraj County’s Cultural Heritage Office, told ILNA that around 70 percent of the region’s historical relics, including archaeological sites and ancient structures, have been discovered solely because of severe desert storms.
The Spice Road was among Iran’s earliest trade routes for transporting spices to different parts of the world and eventually linked to the Silk Road. Some archaeologists believe this stone‑paved road dates back to the Achaemenid era.
The significance of the road’s discovery was such that it drew Professor Shahriar Adl, a prominent Iranian archaeologist, to the area. After visiting the sites, he described Fahraj as a pristine field for archaeological study, noting the presence of numerous ancient remains, including artifacts from the Paleolithic and Epipaleolithic periods.
Vahidzadeh added that the newly exposed section of the Spice Road near Mil Naderi—an area with nearly a thousand years of history— has reappeared due to a recent powerful storm.
Fahraj’s Fortunate Storm Brings Cultural Heritage to Light
Vahidzadeh reported that Fahraj County in Kerman Province is home to 358 historical and archaeological sites, with the Spice Road being the most significant among them. He stated that, similar to its initial discovery, a recent storm uncovered new sections of this ancient road near Mil Naderi.
He added that for many years, numerous experts and archaeologists had sought the Spice Road in Iran, and it was the severe storms in Fahraj that finally revealed it. After the first storm exposed part of the road, the Spice Road was registered as a national heritage site, and archaeological research commenced.
Vahidzadeh explained that the originally discovered section of the road still requires further archaeological studies before restoration can proceed. Accordingly, funding is planned for its restoration and the installation of informational signage. Some archaeologists consider this road to date back to the Achaemenid period.
He also mentioned that the newly uncovered part of the Spice Road near Mil Naderi appeared following recent intense storms. Mil Naderi is the only desert lighthouse in Iran to have been nationally registered and restored.
Unique Structure of Iran’s Spice Road Compared to the Silk Road
Vahidzadeh noted that after the initial news about the discovery of the Spice Road in Fahraj circulated, foreign tourists began visiting the area. The first visitors included Italian tourists, one of whom was a businessman who traveled specifically to see the Spice Road. As an ancient major trade route in Iran connected to the Silk Road, visiting these historic paths was very important to the foreign tourists. They observed that the Spice Road holds greater significance than the Silk Road and that its architectural design differs considerably from that of the Silk Road.
The head of Fahraj’s Cultural Heritage Office explained that the primary difference between Iran’s Spice Road and the Silk Road is the presence of roadside parking areas built to ensure the safe passage of riders and carriages along this narrow-paved road. Additionally, these rest stops were constructed at intervals of every 250 meters, a remarkable aspect of the Spice Road’s ancient engineering not seen on the Silk Road.
