A new dam is due to open in southern Iran amid criticism it will flood an ancient site holding archaeological relics dating back 7,000 years. The government says the Sivand dam in the Bolaghi gorge is needed by farmers in an area that has become desert. Heritage activists have appealed to the president to postpone the flooding by some years so excavation can continue.
     Archaeologists have discovered ancient wine making vessels, clay kilns and prehistoric caves in the area. Many relics have been removed to be placed in a museum, but the site itself will be flooded which conservationists argue will be a huge loss. But the government's going ahead with the inauguration of the dam because farmers in the area desperately need water for irrigation.
     There has been much confusion about exactly what damage to Iran's ancient sites the Sivand dam will do. Archaeologists, including foreign teams, have been working to excavate remains in the gorge that is to be flooded. They found pools and clay pots belonging to an ancient wine workshop, though today grapes no longer grow in the area. And 7,000 year old clay kilns have been unearthed, along with prehistoric caves and a unique seven-kilometre stone boundary wall that some believe once enclosed a hunting ground 2,500 years ago.
      Iranian intellectuals and activists condemned the Tehran government for going ahead with the dam, calling it a 'stupidity.' Archaeologists say flooding from the dam will submerge the Royal Passage, which linked Persepolis to Susa, two capital cities in ancient Persia, as well as some of the 130 ancient sites along the Tang-e-Bolaghi, a mountain path that crosses the Sivand River. Iran's Islamic-oriented government has not shown much concern for cultural sites from the Persian era, unlike the country's more recent Muslim monuments.
     Some experts argue that the dam will increase humidity in the area, sharply exacerbating an already serious problems with lichen eating away at the 2,500-year-old stones. The controversy of the Sivand dam has highlighted the bitter struggle between those who want to modernise and develop Iran at any cost and heritage experts who want society to place a greater value on the country's rich ancient heritage and do more to preserve it.

Sources: BBC News (19 April 2007), Associated Press, Guardian Unlimited (20 April 2007), Reuters, Star Tribune (21 April 2007)