By: The Scribe on April, 2007
The site of Shahr-i Sokhta, which is Persian for “Burnt City”, was a Bronze Age city located in the southeast of Iran. It was built around 3200 BC and was only occupied until around 2100 BC – and during that short time, it had four phases of civilization, after being burnt down three times… and so, it is called the Burnt City because it was not rebuilt after the last destruction.
As well as buildings, the city contains a necropolis with over 600 skeletons in more than 100 graves: some were family burials, some held individual infant burials, and some bodies simply seemed to be randomly grouped together. Skeletons were found buried sitting, laying down, or even folded into a squatting position, indicating that there must have been a large variety of cultures living at this city, which has been reflected in their burial customs.
The city site covers an area of over 150 hectares, making it one of the largest cities in the ancient world during the spread of urbanization. Even so, archaeologists are still puzzled as to where this civilization went after the city was destroyed – it appears that these people just disappeared! Regardless, the Burnt City has provided a remarkable amount of evidence for the independence of eastern Iran from Mesopotamia during the Bronze Age, and for the remainder of this week on the Ancient Standard, we will take a look at some of the incredible and sometimes perplexing finds from this ancient city.
These include:
– the first backgammon board
– the first false eye
– evidence for an ancient UPS system
– embryo burials
– ancient cartoons
– the first brain surgeons
Finally, perhaps what is most intriguing about this city is its lack of military buildings or defenses, and not even one weapon has been found during excavation! The inhabitants must have been peaceful craftsmen and farmers – and based on the high evidence for trade among people of various cultures, perhaps the Burnt City was a neutral meeting place to conduct business in a safe, unprejudiced environment.
Want to read more?*
*Unfortunately, since excavations at the Burnt City are ongoing, there is not yet a comprehensive volume available that details all the archaeological finds and historical theories about this site. At the time of writing, the most recent news was that a book on the past 10 years of excavation is currently “forthcoming.” In the meantime, however, there are a number of informative books on ancient Persia in general, that will allow you to gain a sense of the land’s native culture and history…
Tomorrow: Ancient family games night?
By: The Scribe on April, 2007
In his description of the Battle of Thermopylae (link to a previous post) the Greek historian Herodotus mentions an elite corps of the Persian army called the Ten Thousand, or ‘the Immortals’. This group was known as ‘the Immortals’ because the division was always at full strength – never more, and never less – than ten thousand. If a warrior fell ill, or perished on the battlefield, another man would immediately be sent in to replace him, giving the illusion that strength of their force never wavered.
The Immortals were not only above the rest of the Persian army in skill, but were also kept at a physical distance from everyone else – because they also served as the personal bodyguards of the Persian king, the Immortals marched as a separate unit, and their own provisions were brought separately from those of the regular army, along with their personal slaves and concubines.
Herodotus describes: “ …every man glittered with the gold which he carried about his person in unlimited quantity. They were accompanied, moreover, by covered carriages full of their women and servants, all elaborately fitted out. Special food, separate from that of the rest of the army, was brought along for them on camels and mules…” (7.83)
As for weapons, the Immortals used the composite bow, spears, and short swords. In order to move quickly and efficiently, they wore very light armor – unlike the bronze greaves or helmets of the Greeks – and light, wicker shields were carried only by those in the front rank, who would use them as a defensive barrier if necessary.
Herodotus describes their clothes: “…the dress of these troops consisted of the tiara, or soft felt cap, embroidered tunic with sleeves, a coat of mail looking like the scales of a fish, and trousers…” (7.61). Although this elite force was visibly impressive, and was used by the Persian kings for over a hundred years to conquer nation after nation, they were only sent in as a last reserve against the Spartans at the Battle of Thermopylae… where the small Greek and Spartan force inflicted heavy losses and actually caused the Immortals to retreat.
Want to read more?
Tomorrow: All about vomitoriums
By: The Scribe on April, 2007
Built around 2600 BC, the city of Mohenjodaro was home to people of the Indus Valley Civilization until around 1700 BC, when it was mysteriously abandoned. Mohenjodaro, the Harappan people, and their entire civilization vanished without a trace until an archaeologist stumbled across the city’s remains in 1920.
During its height, Mohenjodaro was the most advanced city in South Asia; its planning and engineering were unsurpassed, and the city itself may have housed around 35,000 people. City planning was impeccable: the streets were laid out in a grid pattern, and workers managed to create uniformly-sized mudbricks to build the houses.
One of the most impressive areas at Mohenjodaro was the public bathhouse (shown below), which consisted of a brick-lined pool inside a colonnaded courtyard. The pool was even lined with a layer of tar to prevent water leakage. The city’s water system was highly sophisticated, with a network of wells to provide fresh water to each house, and a sanitation structure that directed waste through different pipes into a drainage system.
Although it did not have city walls, Mohenjodaro was well-fortified through a network of towers to the west of the city, and defensive fortifications to the south. The lack of obvious defenses within the city may suggest that the town was being used as an administrative or political centre, however this is still under debate due to the extensive amount of city that remains unexcavated. Either way, Mohenjodaro clearly possessed a high degree of social organization – a large, central granary was identified with bays for farmers to bring in their crops from the countryside; beneath the granary air ducts had been constructed for air circulation, in order to allow stored grain to stay dry.
Unfortunately, the ancient name of the city remains unknown, as the language of the Indus Valley people has yet to be deciphered; the current name ‘Mohenjodaro’ is Sindhi for ‘Mound of the Dead’. The city was destroyed and rebuilt at least seven times, and on each occasion, the new city was rebuilt directly on top of the old remains. While flooding is thought to have been the cause of its final abandonment, this has yet to be proven with conclusive evidence.
Want to read more?
Tomorrow: A series on the history behind the movie 300 begins!
