University of Tehran to host archaeological museum

TEHRAN – A specialized archaeological museum is planned to be built at the University of Tehran, which has long been contributing to countless archaeological surveys across Iran.

“We intend to construct an [specialized] archaeological museum next to the Dehkhoda [Lexicon] Institute at the University of Tehran,” Mehr quoted Mostafa Dehpahlavan, the director of the university’s archaeology institute, as saying on Tuesday.

“Archaeological excavations currently come to a halt, but now we have on agenda the construction of a specialized archaeological museum next to the Dehkhoda Institute,” he said.

Two private sector investors are willing to cooperate in the tourism field [regarding the museum] and restaurant space will be handed to the investors for bringing them income, he noted.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the senior archaeologist said the museum will be beneficial to people knowing their ancestors and cultural heritage.

“[Many] people do not know what archeology is [exactly]. They think that archeology is only antiquity, underground, and treasure. We want to introduce archeological topics such as archaeological applications, archaeological parasites, biological archeology, etc.”

“If we utilize the science of archeology in today’s world, which are in fact human experiences, we would not bring such a disaster to our land as the experience of the past regarding qanats (subterranean aqueducts).”

The experts explained how digging deep wells have ruined water resources in the semi-arid land.

“If we knew it was not necessary to dig deep wells, we would not have so much barren land [now].”

For example, what is the transit road now called the Silk Road? Or, many still do not know why a site was not formed in the Aq Qala region in ancient times. People should be familiar with these topics. Many archaeologists may not be aware of these topics as well.