Since 2016 the DAI’s Tehran Branch has been at work at Tappeh Rivi in north-eastern Iran. The settlement covers 120 ha and was occupied from the Iron Age to the Sassanid period. Incorporation of the settlement in the Persian empire (550 to 330 BC) left behind clearly visible remains such as monumental buildings with colonnaded halls of mud brick which probably had administrative functions in the newly established Achaemenid provinces. It’s the first time that an international excavation project is being carried out in this region, which has attracted media interest.
Even during the excavations, a team of restorers and architects work on the conservation of what has been exposed. After all, archaeology is also about developing strategies to preserve sites and prepare them for tourism following the excavations.
