Iran

Shahr-i Sokhta

WHS Score 2.48
rate
Votes 6 Average 3.08
Show votes
Votes for Shahr-i Sokhta

2.0

  • Zoë Sheng

2.5

  • Thomas Buechler

3.0

  • BH
  • Wojciech Fedoruk

4.0

  • Afshin Iranpour
  • Harry Mitsidis

Shahr-i Sokhta is the archaeological site of a Bronze Age urban settlement.

This mud brick city was one of the first complex societies in the region and an example of early urban planning. The remains of a monumental area, residential areas, metal workshops and a graveyard have been preserved due to the dry desert climate. The city appeared around 3200 BCE, was burnt down a number of times and finally was abandoned in 1800 BCE after changes in water courses.

Community Perspective: Located in the far east of Iran, near the Pakistani border, this site isn’t often visited. Jarek did so in 2010 and gives tips for visiting on public transport. Wojciech drove there very swiftly in 2018 and found it a pretty drive through the Lut Desert. They agree on “take plenty of water as there is no shadow at all”.

Site Info

Official Information
Full Name
Shahr-i Sokhta (ID: 1456)
Country
Iran
Status
Inscribed 2014 Site history
History of Shahr-i Sokhta
2014: Advisory Body overruled
ICOMOS proposed Deferral, Malaysia & Lebanon provided Amendments to Inscribe
2014: Inscribed
Inscribed
WHS Type
Cultural
Criteria
  • ii
  • iii
  • iv
Links
UNESCO
whc.unesco.org
All Links
UNESCO.org
Related Resources
News Article
  • May 14, 2015 presstv.ir — Archaeologists find tallest wall ever found near Iran’s Burnt City
  • Jan. 16, 2015 newhistorian.com — Ancient Piece of Leather Found in Burnt City
  • July 23, 2014 tehrantimes.com — Archaeologists find bizarre burials in Burnt City

Community Information

  • Community Category
  • Archaeological site: Near Eastern
Travel Information
Red Zone Travel Advisory
Red Zone Travel Advisory
Iran fully off-limits
Recent Connections
View all (13) .
Connections of Shahr-i Sokhta
Individual People
  • Aurel Stein
    The site was discovered and investigated by Aurel Stein in the early 1900s. (wiki)
Trivia
  • Role of Women
    A number of 5,000-year-old insignias, which were found in the graves of some female inhabitants, suggest that the women of the city enjoyed social and financial prominence.
History
  • Historical Food Remains
    During these investigations several categories of botanical remains such as cereals (grains and legumes),fruits, spices and wood were studied. (Nom File)
  • Bronze Age
    Located at the junction of Bronze Age trade routes (AB ev)
  • Proto-cities
    "Shahr-i Sokhta displays an exceptional and even unique testimony to the development of a human settlement in a specific geographical location during the Bronze Age in the eastern part of the Iranian Plateau. For more than a thousand years, from 3200 BCE to c. 2000 BCE, the proto-urban site of Shahr-i Sokhta was the capital of a region ranging from Kandahar to Makran shores" (nom file)
  • Oldest Buildings
    - 3200-1800 BC "Founded around 3200 BC, it was populated during four main periods up to 1800 BC, during which time there developed several distinct areas within the city: those where monuments were built, and separate quarters for housing, burial and manufacture."
Architecture
Human Activity
Constructions
  • Cemeteries
    The graveyard located at the south and south-western part of the site contains 20,000-37,000 graves (AB ev)
Timeline
Visiting conditions
News
presstv.ir 05/14/2015
Archaeologists find tallest wall e…
newhistorian.com 01/16/2015
Ancient Piece of Leather Found in …
tehrantimes.com 07/23/2014
Archaeologists find bizarre burial…

Community Reviews

Show full reviews
First published: 25/02/19.

Wojciech Fedoruk

Shahr-I Sokhta

Shahr-i Sokhta (Inscribed)

Shahr-i Sokhta by Wojciech Fedoruk

'There lies madness when chasing WHS' – wrote Solivagant about the idea of going from Kaluts to Shahr-i Sokhta through all Lut Desert. These words resonated with me as we decided to take this trip. It is 'only' 450 kilometers away and my GPS showed it could take around 6 hours. In fact it took a lot less – maybe 4 hours or so – I drove up to 150kmph through abandoned desert, on a good road, seeing other cars maybe once per 15 minutes. Remember to have enough gas, although there were some gas stations on the way. The landscapes on the way were just great and far different from nebkas near Shahdad and Kaluts. This road is the best way to enjoy Lut Desert and discover its marvels.

So as a result it was not that mad to go to Shahr-i Sokhta (believe me, there is much more madness in going to isolated Gonbad-e Qabus from Tehran). We were there at around 3 pm and the staff looked like we were the only foreign tourists this month (they certainly do not see many European families with two small children in Baluchistan and Sistan, the remotest Iranian province)... They let us go without any entrance fee, but the guard accompanied us all the time we visited this site. And the site is very huge, if you want to walk all the paths, reserve at least two hours, maybe even more (we did quicker route which took us almost …

Keep reading 0 comments
First published: 22/05/17.

Jarek Pokrzywnicki

Shahr-I Sokhta

Shahr-i Sokhta (Inscribed)

Shahr-i Sokhta by Jarek Pokrzywnicki

Site visited in May 2010. Sharhr-i Sokhta or Shahr-e Sūkhté (farsi name means exactly Burnt City in English) is located between Zabol and Zahedan (Iranian towns that are located close to Pakistan border, around 177 km from Zahedan and ca 55 from Zabol). In theory there is a convenient public transport from Zahedan (oficial taxi from Zahedan Bus Station to Zabol, a place in a car should cost around 5 Euro per person, one way). It is also possible to hire a taxi on your own for the whole trip (dar baste) - including waiting time - prices are negotiable.

The site consists of two parts: main excavations area covering around 150 ha - vast land where only 3 % of the ancient city is uncovered and prepared for visiting. Second part is a small museum located on the opposite side of the road, some 900 meters from the exavations entrance.

It is good to start visiting the site from small Visitors Centre (all the information, photos and maps are displayed in Farsi and English). Excavation site is serviced by circular hiking path covering all attractions (building sites, so called temples, craftsmen area, graveyards). Have in mind that currently it is almost a desert, no trees, no shadow so take plenty of water if you want to wander around.

The museum is relatively small but at least is under roof. The site itself is not very popular along Zahedan people but taxi drivers know the place.

…

Keep reading 0 comments