Iran's ancient rock art among oldest in the world
Khomein, Iran: An Iranian archaeologist has spent years in an almost single-handed quest across the country’s hills and desert plains to uncover ancient rock art that could be among the oldest in the world.
Despite its rough beauty, it is hard to imagine that the desolate, rock-strewn landscape outside the town of Khomein in central Iran conceals any treasures.
But Dr Mohammed Naserifard scrambles up a hillside, and waits eagerly at the top, his walking stick pointing out the long curled horns of a 4,000-year-old ibex deer scratched into a flat stone.
Over the next few hours, he leads AFP on a journey through valleys and up steep slopes, revealing dozens more images of ancient hunters, tribal dances, deities and beasts.
Despite their potential world-historical importance, they have been seen by just a handful of people.
All are thousands of years old, but some of the markings - such as a line of cup-marks that may have been used in religious ceremonies - could be much older.
Dutch enthusiasts who visited the area with Naserifard in 2008 dated the cup marks to more than 40,000 years ago, putting them among the oldest rock art on the planet.
Rock art has never been a priority in Iran, where pre-Islamic history can be a controversial subject.
http://gulfnews.com/news/mena/iran/t...-art-1.1943294
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