Shahr-i Sokhta: Iranian Bronze Age site celebrated in Lecce photo exhibition

Shahr-e Sukhteh (Burnt City), a UNESCO World Heritage site in Iran often called the 'Pompeii of the East,' is the subject of a photographic exhibition at the Monastero degli Olivetani in Lecce, running until July 28, 2024. The exhibition, titled 'Shahr-i Sokhta. Quando il mito diventa storia,' marks the 10th anniversary of the site's UNESCO inscription. Located in the Sistan-va-Baluchistan province near the borders of Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Bronze Age settlement flourished from the second half of the 4th millennium BCE until its collapse around 2300 BCE due to unknown causes. It was a major trade and agricultural hub, a melting pot of four great river civilizations: Oxus, Indus, Tigris-Euphrates, and Halil. The site is exceptionally well-preserved due to salt concretions that sealed underground structures and artifacts, similar to Pompeii's volcanic ash. First identified in the early 20th century, systematic excavations began in 1970 under Italian archaeologist Maurizio Tosi. Since 2016, new research has been conducted by an international mission led by Mansur Sajjadi of the Iranian Center for Archaeological Research, with the University of Salento's Department of Cultural Heritage under Enrico Ascalone. The exhibition features 141 photographs and explanatory panels, highlighting recent discoveries such as a proto-Elamite accounting tablet from 3000 BCE, evidence of the city's complex administrative activities.