DEMRE, TURKEY—Dozens of terracotta figurines have been discovered on Turkey’s southwestern coast in the ancient Lycian town of Myra by a team of researchers led by Nevzat Çevik of Akdeniz University, according to a Live Science report. The 2,200-year-old sculptures were found along with other objects made of ceramic, bronze, lead, and silver in the remains of the Hellenistic theater, which lay under the town’s larger Roman theater. The sculptures depict men, women, cavalry, animals, and the Greek deities Artemis, Heracles, Aphrodite, Leto, and Apollo. Some of the figures still bear traces of red, blue, and pink paint in different shades, Çevik said. Inscriptions on the backs of some of the statues may records the names of a workshop or artist, he added. The team members also recovered votive plates and incense containers, and think the figurines may have been displayed in a cult area before they were moved to the theater site. To read about recent reanalysis of hundreds of Phoenician ceramic figurines found on the seafloor off the coast of Israel, go to ” Offerings at Sea .”

By Dr. Kaveh Farrokh

Below are two rare hand-colored photographs of the city of Tiflis (Tbilisi) in Georgia in
the late 19th century. The photos were taken by the Georgian photographer Dmitri
Ivanovich Ermakov. Georgia along with territories in the southern Caucasus had been
conquered by imperial Czarist Russia from Qajar-ruled Iran in the early 19th century. The first war between Qajar-ruled Iran and imperial Russia was fought in 1804-1813. This resulted in Iran’s loss of the Caucasus to the Russians, as ratified by the Treaty of
Gulistan on September 24, 1813 in the village of Gulistan in the khanate in Nakhchevan. As noted by Kaveh Farrokh in the text “ Iran at War 1500-1988 “: 

“The Gulistan Treaty … was … one of the most humiliating treaties ever signed by Iran throughout her history. Article 3 forced Iran to relinquish all her Caucasian khanates (except Armenia and Nakhchevan) situated between the western shore of the Caspian Sea and Armenia to Russia. These included the khanates of Karabagh (Qarabagh), Ganja, Sheki, Shirvan, Darband, Mughan, Kuba, Baku, and the northern part of Talysh (Including the strategic fortress of Lankoran). These khanates were situated just north of the Araxes River and were not collectively or individually recognized as being part of the Iranian province of Azerbaijan. The historical Azerbaijan was situated strictly to the south of the Araxes River in Iran. In addition to the khanates, Iran was also forced to renounce all of her claims to Georgia (as well as the territories of Mingrelia, Imeretia, and Abkhazia) and Daghestan…The terms of the Gulistan treaty … especially the catastrophic territorial losses in the Caucasus exacted a particularly heavy blow … not just the diminution of the landmass of the Iranian empire… also involved the surrender of a total of 3,000,000 of her citizens (i.e. Persians, Azarbaijanis and Talysh resident in the Caucasus) to Russian rule. “
[Page 194, 2011]

The old bridge-walkway in Tbilisi with the Shiite mosque still evident despite the passage of a number of decades after the imperial Russian conquests (Source: Georgia About ).

The second war between Qajar-ruled Iran and imperial Russia was fought in 1826-1828. As noted by Kaveh Farrokh in the text “ Iran at War 1500-1988 “, this resulted in another defeat for Iran as ratified in:

“… the treaty of Turkmenchai [signed] on February 21, 1828…proved to be even harsher than those of Gulistan in 1813, making it one of the most humiliating Treaties signed by Iran in her history … Article four of the treaty ensured that Iran lost even more territory that she had in the Gulistan treaty. Iran was not only forced to acknowledge her territorial losses as stipulated in the Gulestan treaty, she also had to cede the khanates of Nakhchevan, Yerevan (modern Republic of Armenia), Talysh and other regions such as Mughan and Ordubad to the Russian empire.” [Page 197, 2011]

Colorized photograph of Shopkeepers selling local wine jugs in Tbilisi in the 19th
century CE (Source: Georgia About ). The style of the shops, their wooden doors and even the display of wares still resembled shops in Iranian territory. Note that this is despite the fact that imperial Russia had been engaged in a decades long anti-Persian cultural campaign in the Caucasus since the late 1820s . These policies continued well into end the Soviet era in 1990.

After the finalization of the Russian conquests of the Caucasus, Tbilisi became the
Imperial Tsarist capital of the Caucasus. Tbilisi become the de-facto base of the viceroy
of the Tsars of Moscow.

1. The Mushtaid (Mojtahed) Garden in Tbilisi
2. Photos of the Atashgah (Zoroastrian Fire Temple) in Tbilisi, Georgia
3. A Collage of Ancient Tbilisi (Tiflis)
4. Updates and Photos from Yerevan State University Conference November 2013
5. Farrokh Lecture on Iran-Caucasus Links at University of Southern California
6. Zoroastrian and Mithraic Sites of the Caucasus
7. Photos of Old Tehran: 1848 to 1864
8. Nowruz Celebrations in the Caucasus
9. Shireen T. Hunter: The New Geopolitics of the South Caucasus
10. New Book: Iranian-Russian Encounters Empires and Revolutions since 1800
https://www.kavehfarrokh.com/heritage/two-hand-colored-19th-century-photos-of-tiflis-tbilisi/

According to Iran’s official publications, the “traditional knowledge of Persian shipbuilding and navigation in the Persian Gulf,” which was included on the UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2011, will be removed and destroyed with the approval of the cabinet of ministers of the Iran’s Islamic government.
The order was approved under a directive related to the “replacement of traditional vessels with a capacity of less than 50 tons and with the aim of removing smuggling tools from the sea, transferring non-formal sailing and fishing to official and commercial activities”, and according to the government, “boosting shipbuilding activities and maritime safety.”
The construction and building of dinghies or small boats have been practiced by Persian sailors and fishermen for centuries, supporting their livelihood and their families. Under this new directive from the Iranian government the title “Knowledge of dinghy construction of Iranian sailors in the Persian Gulf” will instead be removed from the UNESCO World Heritage List and in practice this knowledge which has
been transferred from generation to generation will be forgotten. Therefore, it is foreseeable that another ancient Iranian skill and practice that is a relic of fishermen and sailors of our land will be forgotten due to the ignorance and profiteering of the Islamic government. It is also quite possible that in a few years the skill and historical knowledge of building dinghies will be presented to the UNESCO by another Persian Gulf country as their own World Heritage skill.
Interestingly, and contrary to this recent order, the officials and the cabinet of the Iranian Islamic government recently sent reports to the UNESCO on the government’s actions to preserve intangible Iranian world heritage. Not surprising from a government which has continuously given false and misleading reports to the UNESCO.
www.savepasargad.com

KUMAMOTO, JAPAN—According to a statement released by Kumamoto University, researchers have found a document in the Eisei Bunko Library that indicates supplies for a batch of wine were ordered by Taroemon Ueda, a Hosokawa clan vassal with ties to Westerners, in September 1632, after the beverage was prohibited by the shogunate in 1631 because of its association with Christianity. The Hosokawa clan ruled the Kokura Domain, which was located on the northern end of the island of Kyushu. The wine is thought to have been completed by mid-October, based upon other records of wine-making from wild grapes and black soybeans for medicinal use by Tadatoshi Hosokawa, the lord of the clan, from 1627 to 1630. A few months later, the shogunate ordered the Hosokawa clan to move south to the Higo Domain. No records have been found to suggest that the Hosokawa clan continued to produce the forbidden beverage in their new territory.

According to a statement released by Washington State University , researchers led by Mario Zimmermann have detected Mexican marigold, Tagetes lucida, and two types of tobacco, Nicotiana tabacum and Nicotiana rustia, in 14 miniature Maya ceramic vessels
recovered from the Yucatán Peninsula. The researchers employed a new technique to
identify additional plant compounds beyond caffeine, nicotine, and other compounds found in tobacco in residues collected from vessels associated with drug use. Zimmermann suggests adding the marigold to the tobacco mixture may have made
smoking more enjoyable. The team members hope to investigate a wide range of
Mexico’s vessels and the dental plaque on human remains for a better understanding of
psychoactive plant use.

The Guardian reports that a 2,000-year-old grave containing the remains of a one-year-
old child and a dog were unearthed at a construction site in central France by researchers from France’s National Institute of Preventive Archaeological Research. The child’s coffin had been made of wood held together with nails and marked with a decorative iron tag. An ornamental copper pin had been used to fasten the child’s burial shroud. An iron ring attached to a bent metal rod may have been used as a toy. It was found between the legs of the young dog placed at the child’s feet. The pup was wearing a collar with bronze decorations and a small bell. Pottery, glass vessels, and the remains of a large feast, including half a pig, three hams, two headless chickens, and other pieces of pork had been placed around the coffin. An older child’s baby tooth was found on a fragment of a broken shell. Roman adults were usually cremated, the researchers explained, while toddlers were sometimes buried near the family home, which suggests a large villa may be located in the area.

According to a Hurriyet Daily News report, a team of researchers led by Elif Koparal of Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University identified the sites of hundreds of Neolithic
settlements and a 2,500-year-old temple dedicated to the goddess Aphrodite during a survey of the Urla-Çeşme peninsula, which is located on Turkey’s western coastline.
Koparal said it is unusual to discover a temple during such a survey of the surface of the ground. “We found a statue piece of a woman on the floor, and then a terracotta female head figure,” Koparal said. The artifacts had been damaged through prolonged exposure to wind and rain. “There is also an inscription around the temple,” she said. The researchers were able to pinpoint the temple’s walls with remote sensing equipment, she added.

The Times of India reports that a Mahayana Buddhist monastery dated to about the eleventh or twelfth centuries A.D. has been discovered on a hilltop in eastern India. Anil Kumar of Visva Bharati University said the structure featured interconnected cells, wooden doorframes, and lime-plastered floors decorated with red, green, yellow, white, and black paint. The lintel at the entrance to the monastery’s main sacred area depicts two Bodhisattvas known as Manjushri and Avalokiteshvara. Wooden votive tablets recovered at the site each bear the figure of a person that may represent the Buddha. Kumar said some 500 sculptures have also been documented at the site. The name of the monastery, Srimaddharmaviharik aryabhiksusanghasya, was found written in script dated to about
the eighth or ninth centuries A.D. on two burnt clay seals, he added. The large number of metal bangles, and the presence of doors on the cells, suggest that women monks may have lived in the monastery. A woman named Vijayashree Bhadra, who received
donations from Mallika Devi, a queen of the Pala Empire, is known to have served as
chief monk.

China Daily reports that a tomb dated to the Sui Dynasty (A.D. 581–618) has been unearthed in central China’s Henan Province. The tomb, which contains a coffin bed and screen made of white marble carved with patterns resembling those found in Zoroastrianism and Buddhism, belonged to a previously unknown couple named Qu Qing. An epigraph found in the tomb records events in the couple’s lives and offers new
information about the development of calligraphy during the Sui Dynasty. “The Qu
family lived in the Longxi area, which occupied the main part of the Silk Road for a long
time, so they were deeply influenced by European, West Asian, and Central Asian
cultures,” explained Kong Deming of the Anyang Institute of Cultural Relics and
Archaeology. White porcelain tomb figures produced at the Xiangzhou kiln in Anyang
were also recovered from the tomb. Kong said the figures will help researchers
understand the development of such porcelain