Darius palace in Bolaghi Valley had ash timber ceiling TEHRAN, Dec. 22 (MNA) -- Studies have recently determined that the ceiling of the Darius palace in the Bolaghi Valley had been constructed from ash timber.
The research has been carried out by a U.S. center for archaeological studies, Mohammad-Taqi Ataii, director of the Iranian archaeological team working in the valley on the Darius palace, told the Persian service of CHN on Saturday.
The ruins of the palace were discovered during archaeological rescue excavations at the Bolaghi Valley, which were carried out as part of a project to study over 130 archaeological sites before the filling of the reservoir of the Sivand Dam in southern Iran’s Fars Province.
At present, filling of the dam reservoir has almost been completed.
“Sometime ago, during the last phase of excavations, we discovered a large piece of timber at the ruins of the palace,” Ataii said.
“The item was sent to the U.S. center, and surprisingly they reported that the wood is ash,” he added.
In the report the U.S. center remains unnamed.
According to Ataii, ash trees are indigenous to northwestern Iran and little is known about this type of tree occurring in Fars Province.
“It seems that the Achaemenids used to bring ash wood from northwestern Iran for use in the ceilings of their palaces and other building structures,” he stated.
Experts have calculated that the palace will not be submerged by the filling of the reservoir. However, they have said that moisture caused by the construction will destroy the site in the near future.
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