 Heap of dust it is not
Sialk is just one of thousands of structures
of antiquity in Iran plundered by colonialists,
thieves, incompetent
authorities, and time itself
By Nima Kasraie
April 20, 2004
iranian.com
Upon visiting the oldest ziggurat in the world, one
is only greeted with the solitary sound of dusty wind gusts. Here,
tucked away in the suburbs of Kashan,
sits the 7,500-year-old ziggurat of Sialk, a testament to ancient civilizations
that flourished in Iran long before the Egyptian or Greek cultures blossomed.
Like many other ruins in Iran, unfortunately, what is left of this per ancient
edifice is only a big pile of crumbling bricks.
This author is familiar with the
efforts of dozens of historic preservation institutions as well
as local, state, and federal organizations
in Knoxville, that preserve and protect the heritage of eastern
Tennessee. These institutions
will do what it takes to make sure that a humble house built in the 1920s will
receive historic overlay zoning and come under he protection of the law.
In Sialk, on the other hand, what we see is a sign
saying: "Please do not touch objects", and next to it another
sign saying: "Items excavated here belong to the Stone Age". When
the guard, sitting in a chair, isn't looking, you can easily lift the rope
where the signs hang, and sneak a few pieces of millennia old ceramics,
spear
heads, or other items into your pocket.
 The guard won't care if you climb
on top of the crumbling ziggurat itself, and while walking behind the ziggurat
you
can enjoy how it feels to kick 7000-year-old mud bricks to rubble.
You can even ask the guard to let you see the "off limit" 5,500
year old skeletons unearthed at the foot of the ziggurat.
Built by the Elamite civilization, Teppe Sialk was first excavated by a team
of European archeologists in the 1930s. Like the thousands of other Iranian
historical ruins, the treasures excavated here eventually found their way
to museums such
as the Louvre, the British Museum, the
New York Metropolitan Museum, and private collectors -- including the
three jars you see in this piece.
What little is
left of the two Sialk ziggurats is now threatened by the encroaching
suburbs. It is not uncommon to see kids playing soccer
amid the
ruins.
 One cannot help but imagine that if Sialk were located
in Tennessee,
the ziggurat would have been fully preserved by three layers of vacuum-sealed
Mission Impossible-type weathering protection systems,
if not rebuilt and
restored
altogether like the cathedrals in Europe. Hollywood would have made several
movies, using the monument as a device to further publicize the
antiquity and sophistication
of Western civilization.
The significance of the scientific and cultural achievements
of the Elamites and their influence on other civilizations can
be better understood when
we learn that according to some scholars the first wheeled pitcher (or
wheeled roller)
is known to have been invented by the Elamites.
 Furthermore, the first
arched roof and its covering, which are very important techniques in
architecture were invented by the Elamites, and used in the mausoleum
of Tepti-ahar
around
1360
B.C. (unearthed in the excavations made at Haft Tappeh) nearly 1,500
years before such arches were used by the Romans.
But the painful
reality is that Sialk is just one of thousands of structures
of antiquity in Iran plundered by colonialists,
thieves, incompetent
authorities, and time itself. Only the more famous ones
come to attention
when threatened, and a select few come under the protection of UNESCO.
Other
ancient structures of Persian heritage are not so lucky. The
Sialk ziggurat at least has a guard or two protecting it, and Cultural
Heritage Organization
(hopefully) pays for the rope that supposedly prevents visitors
from
stealing the numerous excavated pieces. Others like the massive
Sasani-era citadel of Nareen Ghal'eh (See photo)
in Naeen have turned into
a garbage
dump by the locals. And many many others fare even worse than that.
Protecting
such heritage is a critical responsibility for everyone. Sometimes
I feel ashamed when I hear about Italian or Japanese authorities
voicing concern
over the
preservation of buildings in Iran. What are we doing? Turning ancient
caravansarais into bus
repair garages for TBT and IranPeyma?
If there is one reason why
Persian culture has managed to survive thousands of years of
change and onslaught, it is because of the
vast inheritance
that we
are now so easily giving away. The destruction of our monuments
from Taq-I-Kasra near Baghdad to the tombs of Bukhara and Samarqand
are
only minor facets of
this tragedy.
The least we can do here in America, is document
our culture by publishing
articles, making websites, creating databases of information,
photographs, and the fine arts, and spread the word around
by calling for the
help of other fellow
Americans of Iranian heritage.
Author
Nima Kasraie is a graduate student in Physics at
the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.
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Heap of dust it is not
The guard won't care if you climb
on top of the crumbling ziggurat itself, and while walking behind the ziggurat
you
can enjoy how it feels to kick 7000-year-old mud bricks to rubble.
You can even ask the guard to let you see the "off limit" 5,500
year old skeletons unearthed at the foot of the ziggurat.
One cannot help but imagine that if Sialk were located
in Tennessee,
the ziggurat would have been fully preserved by three layers of vacuum-sealed
Mission Impossible-type weathering protection systems,
if not rebuilt and
restored
altogether like the cathedrals in Europe. Hollywood would have made several
movies, using the monument as a device to further publicize the
antiquity and sophistication
of Western civilization. 
Furthermore, the first
arched roof and its covering, which are very important techniques in
architecture were invented by the Elamites, and used in the mausoleum
of Tepti-ahar
around
1360
B.C. (unearthed in the excavations made at Haft Tappeh) nearly 1,500
years before such arches were used by the Romans.
