The human remains

The excavations revealed human burials in Sectors 1 and 2. The main mound was covered with a graveyard, for which 2–3 phases of use have been recognized. Until now, 88 burials have been uncovered and documented. Following careful analyses conducted in the expedition house, all remains were reburied at a nearby graveyard.

The earliest burials can probably be dated to the Sasanian Period. The latest remains belong to the villagers that occupied Gird-i Shamlu until the 1960s, when they were resettled because the village lay in the Darband-i Khan reservoir’s inundation zone. 

Many of the burials are inhumations of infants. This either indicates a special area for children within the graveyard as these remains concentrate on the highest summit of the site. Or the inhabitants of the associated village lived under conditions that caused a high child mortality rate. Bodies of adult deceased individuals show traces of arthrosis and longtime poor posture, most probably caused by hard work.

Human remains are analyzed by Rafał Fetner, University of Warsaw.