According to press tv, the
conference started July 2 at Durham University in northern England and taking a
multi-disciplinary approach, it looked at the key role the vital waterway has
played in the development of human settlements in the region from the
pre-historic to the present.
Speakers presenting papers included British academics as well as scholars from
Australia, Italy, the US and France and the Iranian Centre of Archaeological
Research (ICAR) in Tehran.
In their in-depth probe into the regions seafaring developments, the nature of
commodities being traded within the Persian Gulf and the techniques used to
identify them the academics found that the Persians battled the waves of the
Persian Gulf more than 5,000 years ago.
They also established that the waterway was once dry, leading to the conclusion
that the first Persians must have come to the land now known as Iran on foot.
Also worth noting is the importance of Siraf; a legendary ancient port located
on the north shore of what is now the Iranian coast on the Persian Gulf. Dating
back to the 4th century, Siraf was used as a boat route between the Arabian
Peninsula, India and later, China.
In past archaeological excavations Discovered Siraf has yielded ivory objects
from east Africa, pieces of stone from India, and lapis from Afghanistan. Siraf
dates back to the Parthian era.
Deputy head of Iran Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization
(ICHTO), Hamid Baghaee, believes the Persian Gulf not only performed a
historically vital role, it had global significance in linking the East and the
West and should be added to the UNESCO list of Cultural Heritage.
The two-day international conference was sponsored by the Iranian Cultural
Heritage, Handicraft and Tourism Organization, the British Institute of Persian
Studies, and Durham University, which hosts a Centre for Iran Studies.
