Ancient earthen coffin found in southern Iran

An earthen coffin with a skeleton in it has been discovered in Iran's southwestern province of Khuzestan, an area rich in oil and history.

The coffin was found in the sand-covered desert hills of Gol Rizvan in the environs of Ramshir city in Khuzestan province.

It is believed to have been buried at some point during the almost 500 years of the Parthian Empire (247 BCE - 224 CE).

Archaeologists hope that the discovery will give insight into the funerary traditions of the ancient Parthian Empire, which is also known as the Arsacid Empire.

At the height of its power, the Parthian Empire ruled most of Greater Iran, Mesopotamia, and Armenia.

The indigenous Iranian dynasty well managed to shake off the yoke of Greek dominion in the country and safeguard the rich Persian civilization.

The Arsacids were in an almost perpetual state of war to defend the Persian territories against the Roman Empire in the west and nomadic tribes in the east.

During their five-century rein, they fought to capture and hold territory from the contemporary Seleucid Empire, or to prevent vassal states from breaking away.

Economically and militarily severely weakened by internal discords and the incessant warring, the Parthian Arsacids were finally vanquished by the Sassanids at around 220 CE.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=115096§ionid=351020105.