A team of archaeologists have discovered over 5000 pottery works and shards and a large pottery workshop at the 6000-year-old site of Toll-e Bondu in the southern Iranian province of Fars, the director of the archaeological team said. "We unearthed the large number of earthenware items during the two phases of the excavation, which led to the identification of a major center for the mass production of pottery in the region," Ehsan Yaghmaii added. The pottery works were made of ochre and created with great precision.
       "The inhabitants of Toll-e Bondu extracted ocher from mines in the nearby mountains. They fired the pottery in kilns fueled with oak and wild almond tree wood and reeds," Yaghmaii said. Archaeologists also discovered several pieces of stone which were used for grinding ochre.
     Due to the evidence discovered indicating mass production of pottery, archaeologists believe that the products were also exported to other regions. "Toll-e Bondu is located between Marvdasht and Khuzestan Province, wherein some productions of the site were previously found. In fact, the people of Toll-e Bondu exported their products to Susa and Haft-Tappeh in Khuzestan, and Marvdasht in Fars," Yaghmaii said.
       At the ancient site, the team also recently discovered an instrument which archaeologists believe is a pen dating back to the mid-Elamite era (1500-1100 BCE). Toll-e Bondu is located near Nurabad, 158 kilometers west of the provincial capital Shiraz. Archaeologists have also excavated architectural ruins as well as metal and clay artifacts in this region dating from the fourth millennium BCE to the Achaemenid era and the 13th and 14th centuries CE. The archaeological studies are being carried out by Kazerun Azad University and the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization.

Source: Mehr News (23 April 2005)