A large pot, which is thought to be a prehistoric artifact, was recently discovered accidentally by a gardener working on his patch near the 7500-year-old Sialk Tepe site in central Iran. "The large pot was discovered inside the second perimeter of Sialk Tepe, where the gardener was grading the earth to fence his garden," archaeologist Zahra Sarukhani of the Kashan Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts Office said.
     The recent finding is one of the biggest pottery works ever discovered at the site, with the mouth of the pot measuring 120 centimeters in diameter. The discovery shows that the second perimeter of Sialk Tepe stretches over 100 meters beyond the first perimeter to an area where a number of construction projects have destroyed some parts of the site.
     Sialk Tepe has been surrounded by houses that have been constructed illegally over the few past years. Recent studies by Iranian archaeologists indicate that the first houses were built at the Sialk site about 7500 years ago.

Source: Mehr News (28 Feburary 2007)