A Tomb in Kurdistan

[Sean Manning]

In 1934, C.T. Edmonds published a description of an chamber cut into the rock with reliefs nearby in Kurdistan. The reliefs are from the Achaemenid period, and show two nobles in Median dress venerating an altar. The chamber is probably a tomb, and the altar is probably a Zoroastrian fire altar, but I'm not certain. Recently, an American police officer named Rory Miller was brought there by Iraqis. He posted a high resolution photo here (click the photo to see it enlarged).

Its good to see that its almost as well preserved as it was in 1934, although there is some new graffiti. But its sad that its still scholarly foreigners who make sites like this known to the wider world.

[Gregg]

Two interesting depictions of good-sized Scythian style bows.

[Duncan Head]

Nice photo, Sean, thanks for bringing it to our attention.

Is it Achaemenid, though? I've not seen Edmonds' publication, I know it only from a drawing in Georgina Herrmann's The Iranian Revival (1977). That book reckons:

"For a long time scholars believed that these tombs belonged to the Median period but in recent years it has been realized that they date to the post-Achaemenian period, that is to the Seleucid or Parthian eras. This new dating has been suggested by a number of factors including the use of Hellenistic architectural elements which were popular over a wide area at that time and by the results of technical studies of ancient stone working."

Since I know nothing about architecture, I've always taken her word for it!

[Sean Manning]

Humh, I hadn't read that book. I'll check what Edmonds said (C.T. Edmonds, “A Tomb in Kurdistan,” Iraq Vol. 1 (1934) pp. 183-192), but I think the only evidence he had was the structure itself. Those columns do look Hellenic to my ignorant eye.

My copy of the Edmonds article had the photos ruined by the photocopier.