New archeological and art studies on insignias unearthed in the Iranian ancient site of Jiroft shows that the southern area used to be the most important business nucleus of Persia and its residents had bustling trade ties with people living in other parts of the country.
     "During two excavation seasons, archeologists have found around 25 insignias and seals, dating back from the 3rd millennium BCE to 2,300 years BCE,” announced team leader Dr. Yusef Majidzadeh. The insignias have had trademarks of all ancient parts of Persia, indicating Jiroft had been a trade hub for the whole nation, he added. “Some of the seals depict an impression of snakes, mostly associated with ancient Pakistan and Afghanistan, while others portray Mesopotamian champions or squatting women hailing from Susa,” Dr. Majidzadeh noted. Iranian archeologists have concluded that ancient Persians packaged their goods inside earthenware vessels and/or jugs and then covered the lid with mud and sealed it with special insignias.
     Jiroft came into spotlight nearly three years ago when extensive illegal excavations and plundering of the invaluable historical items of the area by local people surfaced. Since 2002, two excavation seasons have been carried out there under the supervision of Majidzadeh, leading to the discovery of a ziggurat with more than four million mud bricks dating back to 2300 BCE.

Source: Payvand (15 September 2004)