honarnews:A Petition by a Group of Researchers, Archaeologists, etc. Concerning the Nomination of the “Susa Archaeological Complex” for registration in the UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites


The nomination of “Susa Archaeological Complex” for registration in the list of World Heritage Sites is an auspicious and encouraging event that suggests after years of negligence this important site will receive some attention. Although the efforts by the administration of the Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Organization is admirable, we cannot ignore some serious technical faults that exist in this case. Especially we are seriously concerned about the “introduced” limits of Susa’s surrounding landscape.

We therefore use the opportunity of visit by the ICOMOS inspectors’ visit to the ancient city of Susa, and ask them to make correct decisions regarding this important heritage site according to UNESCO’s high professional standards.

We emphasize some points in this regard:
Months after the submission of the proposal, the specifics of this proposal are very vague and none of the responsible bodies are willing to share information about the submitted proposal with the wide array of professionals who are active in the field of cultural heritage in Iran. Although the proposal has been submitted months ago, surprisingly the Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicraft Organization has recently held a number of sessions to discuss the cultural and natural limits of the Susa complex. We emphasize that recent scientific studies have designated a 1200 hectares area for the whole complex. The reduction of this limit to 400 acre has no scientific basis. This reduction will ignore many important and unique features of this complex and will definitely damage its integrity.

Susa ought to be registered as a “complex” considering its unique cultural and natural landscape. For example its satellite archaeological sites such as Ja’far-ābād, Jowi, Band-e bāl, Eywān-e Karkheh, etc. need to be registered along with this whole complex. We remind the honorable inspectors that through an earlier effort, Mr. Kāboli, one of the excavators of Susa has prepared a proposal in cooperation with Dr. Chahryar Adle (of CNRS). This earlier proposal considered Susa as a cultural complex and not a single site. We encourage the honorable inspectors or consider this earlier proposal and also recent scientific studies defining Susa’s surrounding natural and cultural landscape.