Expert deciphers nails around ancient Pahluj skeletons
An anthropologist said that the nails around the ancient Pahluj skeletons imply an unknown style of burial carried out for females during the early Islamic era.
“We face an unknown style of burial, in which nails have been located upside down on the earth, maybe in order to hold a sheet of wood above the bodies in the graves,” Farzad Foruzanfar told the Persian service of CHN on Saturday.
“The bodies have not been buried in coffins because no remains of wood have been found under the skeletons. However we have found a brown powder of wood on some of the nails’ points,” he added.
The graves were discovered during the rescue excavation, which has begun at the site near the village of Mirar-Kola in northern Iran in late August.
Pahluj (mistakenly spelled Tahluj in previous reports), which is home to several sites dating back from Iron Age to early Islamic era, will be completely submerged under water and mud when the Alborz Dam becomes operational. Pahluj is located in the Savadkuh region of Mazandaran Province.
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“We face an unknown style of burial, in which nails have been located upside down on the earth, maybe in order to hold a sheet of wood above the bodies in the graves,” Farzad Foruzanfar told the Persian service of CHN on Saturday.
“The bodies have not been buried in coffins because no remains of wood have been found under the skeletons. However we have found a brown powder of wood on some of the nails’ points,” he added.
The graves were discovered during the rescue excavation, which has begun at the site near the village of Mirar-Kola in northern Iran in late August.
Pahluj (mistakenly spelled Tahluj in previous reports), which is home to several sites dating back from Iron Age to early Islamic era, will be completely submerged under water and mud when the Alborz Dam becomes operational. Pahluj is located in the Savadkuh region of Mazandaran Province.