A 5000-year-old brick platform has been discovered at the Qoli Darvish Tepe near Qom, central Iran. "The platform was discovered during the fourth phase of excavations at Qoli Darvish and will complete the archaeological information about the site. However, some parts of the platform and a structure built on it have been destroyed by loaders," archaeological team director Siamak Sarlak said.
     The Qoli Darvish Tepe once covered 50 hectares and was 30 meters in height, but now it is just 6 meters in height and only 10 hectares of the site remain untouched due to construction of the Qom-Jamkaran Highway over the past decade. "The platform is similar to examples in Mesopotamia. Following an ancient technique, a place had been dug out and filled with gravel and the platform had been constructed on the foundation and then a structure had been built on it," Sarlak explained. "Some parts of the structure are still left, and the team discovered a Bronze Age grey pot, some other dishes, chips used for counting, a round multicolor pendant, and some polychrome pottery works in the ruins of the walls," he added.
     In March, the team unearthed a hearth at a temple discovered during a previous phase of excavations.

Source: Mehr News (3 April 2007)