We are pleased to announce that following last year’s highly successful conference, the Iran Heritage Foundation is organising a second conference which will feature talks by international experts, as well as looking at how the significant Iranian site of Tappeh Sialk can be more widely recognised and promoted in the future.

Description
Tappeh Sialk, near Kashan, is arguably the most important archaeological site in Iran before the Achaemenid period and one of the most significant sites in the Middle East. There have been several excavation projects over the years, most recently in 2009 led by Dr Hassan Fazeli Nashli. In addition to charting the archaeological history of Iran for over 5000 years, Sialk is a unique source of information about subjects as diverse as palaeobotany, palaeozoology, palaeoanatomy, diet, climate change, and ancient metallurgy. At the conference in 2017 there were presentations by scholars from around the world, including Iran, France, the USA, and the UK. These were followed by a round-table discussion where various measures were recommended including the formation of an international steering committee to oversee the future protection and promotion of Tappeh Sialk. It was also suggested that there should be a follow-up conference in 2018, which IHF is proud to be organising.There will also be presentations by a few participants in the Endangered Archaeology of the Middle East and North Africa (EAMENA) programme, which is an important short-term course in cultural heritage preservation being run by Oxford University in order to train specialists so that they can use these skills in Iran.

Programme
The programme will be available shortly. In the meantime please see a list of papers and speakers here.

Tickets & Info
Tickets: £25 or £12.50 to BIPS members (the event is free for Friends of IHF and students with a valid student ID). Booking essential, please contact IHF to register your place.

For any inquiries please call 020 3651 2121.
This conference is organised in association with the British Institute of Persian Studies, which has supported the conference through its research grant programme.