To browse Academia. The mine, known for its salt-diapir structure and antique galleries, was exploited traditionally until when modern methods were introduced. The paper also highlights the discoveries of preserved bodies and artifacts, providing insights into the historical context of salt extraction in the region.
According to the work conducted and further scientific investigations, the beginning of salt exploitation dates to the mid-first millennium BC.
Some indications possibly hint to mining activities during the Late Arsacid period. Salt extraction certainly was taken up again during the Sassanian period and might have continued up to the Early Islamic period. The extraction was carried out as a chamber-pillar mining; no wooden props have been found so far, although the mummified bodies of mine workers and the context bear ample witness of instabilities and mining catastrophes.
The excavation in laid the basis for the establishment of a multinational group of scientists, comprising research facilities in Iran, Germany, Great Britain, France, and Switzerland. Figure 1. The site of Douzlakh, view from south photograph: Deutsches Bergbau-Museum. Click to enlarge. Over a decade ago, a chance discovery was made in Chehrabad salt mine in Zanjan in north-west of Iran, which is unprecedented in Iranian archaeology.
Chehrabad owes its current fame to the great salt dome, called Douzlakh, which represents one of the earliest known salt mines in Iran and in its neighbouring regions. In January , during salt extraction, miners came across the remains of a human body with long hair and beard. Fortunately, the miners noticed its antique date and informed the officials of the Iranian Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts, and Tourism Organization of Zanjan province about the find.
