A team of archaeologists recently discovered 6000-year-old clay coupons during excavations at Rahmatabad Tepe in the Marvdasht region of Fars Province, said on Saturday. "The archaeologists have unearthed 12 square-shaped coupons, indicating that the people of the region had economic and commercial ties with neighboring regions in the fourth and fifth millenniums BCE,"  the director of the team added.
     On June 5, a team of Iranian and foreign archaeologists began a new phase of excavations at the mound, which is located near Pasargadae in the Marvdasht region. The team, made up of Iranian experts and a number of U.S. archaeologists from Binghamton University, has been tasked with saving the artifacts and gathering information from the ancient site, which is threatened by road construction and the canals that will transport water from the Sivand Dam, which is scheduled to become operational at the ancient site of Tang-e Bolaghi in March. The team also plans to revise the dating of the region through exact stratigraphy and to carry out palynological and phytological studies on the region.
       Located 140 kilometers north of Shiraz, the provincial capital of Fars, Rahmatabad Tepe is one of the most significant ancient sites in the Marvdasht region. The tepe dates to the Chalcolithic era like the Tall-e Bakun site on the plain of Persepolis. This phase of the excavation work at Rahmatabad Tepe will continue for one more month.

Source: Mehr News Agency (2 July 2005)