[CPProt.net] re: Cultural genocide in the name of Islam

[cejo at uchicago.edu]

Following is a formal response to the message forwarded 
under the above subject line. For a somewhat diferent 
perspective please read this response and the article it 
cites as: 
http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=11716
"Archaeology in Iran: could the Bulaghi dam project be a 
blessing in disguise? Salvage operation will benefit from 
mistakes of the past" By Rémy Boucharlat in The Art 
Newspapaer


Sivand Dam & Pasargadae - A Letter of Clarification by 
Professors Touraj Daryaee & Kamyar Abdi

Iranian Studies News Bulletin: September 4, 2005,

Professor Touraj Daryaee, the internationally renowned 
premier scholar on Ancient Iranica and Professor of Ancient 
History at California State University, Fullerton; and the 
famed Dartmouth College Professor of Archaeology Kamyar Abdi 
have issued a Joint Letter of Clarification regarding the 
recent erroneous and absolutely baseless rumors about the 
Sivand Dam's effects on Iranica Heritage Site Pasargadae.

Here is the Text:

September 4, 2005

To Whom It May Concern:

This letter is written to clarify some of the 
misunderstandings that have arisen from the building of the 
Sivand dam in general proximity to the archaeological site 
of Pasargadae. Some of our fellow Iranians are misinformed 
about this project there is at least one organization who is 
now proclaiming that the entire region will be flooded and 
as a result our national heritage, especially the tomb of 
Cyrus the Great will be destroyed. Hence, a petition 
campaign has began: 
http://www.puyeshgaraan.com/Pasargad/Pasargad_Main.htm

The Iranian Cultural Heritage website at http://www.chn.ir/ 
regularly informs people of matters such as these. Should 
anyone argue that the news on this website are false and 
part of a grand conspiracy by current government of Iran to 
destroy the Iranian national heritage, please forward them 
the following link to a brief paper by Dr. Remy Boucharlat, 
the head of the French Institute of Iranian Studies, an 
experienced specialist on Iranian archaeology who has been 
active in archaeological fieldwork in the region including 
the Sivand salvage work: 
http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=11716 
(As we are both Iranians some people may prefer the word of 
a farangi to their fellow countryman.)

Not only the Sivand dam is posing NO threat to Pasargadae, 
but it has proven to be the first opportunity for Iranian 
and foreign archaeologists to collaborate on a salvage 
project since the 1979 Revolution, discovering valuable and 
important information relevant to Achaemenid and other 
periods of occupation in the region.

Unfortunately, those who do not know about these matters and 
only have political agendas have rallied the people to an 
ill-informed cause. This reminds us of the finding of the so-
called MUMMIFIED PERSIAN QUEEN "Rhodogoune" which appeared 
to be a fake from the beginning, except to those how wanted 
to make it a political issue or create sensationalism. This 
amateurish modern fake which Carbon-14 showed to be only 3 
years old and the body of a poor woman recently strangled 
was not an Achaemenid queen. Even the name of the lady, 
Rhodogoune, who was the daughter of King Xerxes, was 
miswritten as ru-du-gu-u-n which should be in actuality be 
ru-u-du-u-g-u-n-a, among other childish mistakes on the 
coffin's text. Of course anyone with a rudimentary knowledge 
of ancient Persian history would have known that Persians 
did not mummify the dead! So what happened to the charlatans 
who made a big fuss and took people's money in the name of 
recovering and preserving the body of an Iranian queen? 
Nothing! Just making a quick buck out of people's ignorance!

Please don't do this again with Pasargadae. How come no one 
cared about Pasargadae when it was in dire need of 
attention? How come now that, thanks to the efforts by 
Iranian and foreign archaeologists working with the Center 
for Archaeological Research of the Iranian Cultural Heritage 
and Tourism Organization, the site has been cleaned up, 
surveyed, and registered in the UNESCO World Heritage list, 
these sensationalists have raised the banner of "patriotism"?

One of us was in Shiraz two years ago when the news broke 
out in the local newspapers and people were in commotion. 
Now it has reached an international level. This is 
sensationalism and abusing national heritage to settle 
political scores! Instead of having a multitude of 
committees run by amateurs with little or no grasp of 
intricacies of Iranian history, why don't we have committees 
to fund legitimate archaeological and historical research to 
in Iran by professional archaeologists and historians in 
order to enhance our knowledge of our beloved country?

Touraj Daryaee 
Kamyar Abdi
Professor of Ancient History
Professor of Archaeology
California State University, Fullerton
Dartmouth College 
PO Box 6846 
Hanover, NH 03755
Fullerton, CA 92834-6846 
Kamyar.Abdi at Dartmouth.EDU
tdaryaee at fullerton.edu