.jpg "The photo shows artifacts discovered in a grave at the Bronze Age site of Chalo in northeastern Iran. The bones of a sheep’s head and trotters are circled on the photo. (CHN/Hassan Zohuri)")
TEHRAN – The latest findings at the Bronze Age site of Chalo in northeastern Iran show that people ate kaleh pacheh, a traditional Iranian dish that is prepared with sheep’s head and trotters, in their diet.
A team of Iranian and Italian archaeologists has found bones of sheep’s head and trotters in two bowls buried into two graves unearthed during the latest excavation at the site located near the town of Sankhast in North Khorasan Province, Iranian director of the team, Ali-Akbar Vahdati, told the Persian service of CHN on Monday.
“Remains of a sheep’s head and four trotters have been found in two bowl-shaped containers buried in the graves with the bodies of two persons,” he stated.
“This discovery shows that kaleh pacheh was likely their favorite food that was presented to them after their deaths,” he added
This is the second season of excavation the team has carried out at the site. The first season was completed in 2011. The team includes Italian archaeologist Rafael Bichone and his colleagues from Italy’s Institute for Aegean and Near Eastern Studies – ICEVO.
They have discovered 14 graves in 14 trenches, which have been dug at the site.
“Earthenware dishes, which had been filled with foods, have been discovered in the graves. The archaeologists have also found remains of goat and sheep meat in some of the dishes,” Vahdati said.
During this season of excavation, the archaeologists have said that they have found traces of an international culture, which is similar to the BMAC – the Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex.
The BMAC, also known as the Oxus civilization, is the modern archaeological designation for a Bronze Age civilization of Central Asia. The civilization, which dates to ca. 2300–1700 BC, was located in present day northern Afghanistan, eastern Turkmenistan, southern Uzbekistan and western Tajikistan, centered on the upper Amu Darya (Oxus River).
“All the artifacts unearthed from the graves have the same characteristics identified with the BMAC in Central Asia,” Vahdati previously said.
However he added, “Chalo reveals details of the BMAC in Iran. Maybe it is better to call it the Greater Khorasan culture, because parts of Merv, Samarkand and Bukhara were under the influence of Greater Khorasan.”
MMS/YAW
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