Ancient Iranian Civilization; The Unclear Fate of the “Death in Salt” Exhibition

Frankfurt's archaeological museum has pulled out of a major exhibition on ancient Iran, the museum's director says, as it tries to keep cultural projects out of the spotlight amid political tensions.

Wolfgang David, director of the Frankfurt Archaeological Museum, regrets that an exhibition that has been in the works for two years has been “for now” dropped from the museum’s program. The exhibition concerns the civilizations of ancient Iran and excavations that began in a salt mine in 2010 with the support of German scientific institutions.

The director of the Archaeological Museum explains that the exhibition, which was supposed to come to Germany with detailed preparations, has faced difficulties due to the threats and sanctions of the United States, because the company that was responsible for insuring the exhibition pieces terminated the contract between them for fear of sanctions-related penalties.

Another insurance company, which had been taking on this role since last year, canceled its contract shortly after the Ukrainian plane was shot down by Iranian Revolutionary Guards missiles in early January 2020.

A unique collection

One of the oldest salt mines in the ancient world has been discovered in the Dozlach region, near Cheherabad, a village in the province of northwestern Iran. German scientists, with the help of their Iranian colleagues, planned to hold a full exhibition of this historical site in the German cities of Bochum and Frankfurt.

They traveled to Iran to visit the ancient mine in March 2018 and signed an agreement with Iranian cultural authorities, which was reported in detail by the official Iranian News Agency (IRNA) and the Islamic Republic Radio and Television.

Mr. David told the Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper about the importance of this historical moment: "There are only three known salt mines in the world: two are in Hallstatt and Dornburg in Austria, and the third is the Zanjan mine, which was active until recently. In 1993, a body was found in this mine that research showed to belong to ancient times."

He adds that so far eight salted bodies have been found in this mine, the oldest of which dates back to the Achaemenid era, around 400 BC. The other bodies date back to the Sassanid era, the third and fourth centuries AD.

All the bodies are surprisingly intact, thanks to being mummified in salt.

Mr. David says: "In the exhibition, we plan to recreate the last day of a mine worker. The clothing and even the color of the workers' clothes, their gloves, and the tools they used in the mine have been preserved well. The salt has preserved everything."

In this interview, he thanked Iranian cultural circles for their cooperation and emphasized the scientific competence and technical skills of Iranian archaeologists.

He says he has not lost hope for the exhibition and will continue to work to make it happen. "This treasure has been buried for 2,400 years, and a few years later or earlier doesn't have much impact," he says.

Source: DW