Iran’s Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi visited the Karun-3 dam in Khuzestan province on Wednesday. Kharazi said the project is a source of national pride for Iranians, as it was fully implemented by Iranian experts and technicians.
The Iranian news agency IRNA reported that during his speech, Kharazi said that thanks to the Karun-3, “Iran reserves a superior position compared to many other countries in terms of dam and hydraulic power plant construction.” Kharazi added, that “such projects show the high technical expertise and efforts of the country in dam building.”
On the other hand, Karun-3 and other Iranian dams, all in advanced stages of construction, have been identified as threatening Iran’s ancient sites in several provinces including Gilan in the north, Kermanshah in the west, Khuzestan in the southwest, and East Azerbaijan in the northwest, according to Iran’s Mehr News.
The reservoir of the Karun-3 dam in Khuzestan was recently filled and a large amount of the cultural heritage of ancient Izeh was submerged under mud forever. According to the Mehr News report, archaeologists had identified 80 sites in the region from the Epipaleolithic period (20,000-10,000 B.C.), including 13 caves and four rock shelters. The river valley also includes graves, ancient caves, and other monuments and artifacts from the Elamite era.
At the beginning of March, Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization Director Hossein Marashi approved the transfer of some artifacts, which were discovered at the Izeh historical site, to the permanent museum of the Karun-3 dam.
“Most of the items which were found under the ground or inside graves were restored and are now ready to be transferred to the museum. Stone tools for hunting from the Stone Age, Elamite earthenware, iron tools, and the skeleton of a mother and a child which were found inside a mountain are among the items which will be put on display,” he said.
The Karun-3 dam was inaugurated on November 8, submerging many historical sites, monuments, and artifacts. It is argued by archeologists, that only a very small portion of the artifacts were rescued and put on display at the museum.
The Karun-3 dam and hydroelectric power plant lies 28 kilometers (17 miles) east of the city of Izeh in Khuzestan province on the Karun River.