Oct 29, 2018, 5:33 PM
News ID: 83082982
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Archeologists discover traces of Ismaili sect after Mongol invasion

Tehran, Oct 29, IRNA - The discovery of two golden shade tiles in the archeological explorations in the current year showed that the followers of the Ismaili sect had returned to Alamut castle and settled there after the Mongol invasion and its destruction.

The Public Relations Office of the Research Institute of Cultural Heritage and Tourism (RICHT) quoted Hamideh Choobak, head of the 14th season of archeological exploration in Alamut castle in Qazvin as saying that although the castle palace of Alamut was destroyed by the Mongols in their invasion in the year 654 Hegira, however due to its importance for the Ismaili sect, once again its followers returned back to the place.

Referring to the construction of valuable monuments with tile decorations after the return of the Ismaili followers to Alamut, she said it seems that the decorations belonged to the mausoleum of Hassan Sabbah and the Ismailis intended to revive it.

She underlined the importance of the mausoleum of Hassan Sabbah for the followers of the Ismaili sect and said in historical texts, the mausoleum of Hassan Sabbah and his successors had been referred to the place of pilgrimage for their followers.

She expressed the hope that in future exploration operations further documents and evidence would be obtained from the burial site of Hassan Sabbah.

In Explaining characteristics of the two golden shade tiles, Choobak said the tiles showed that after the invasion of the Mongols, the Islamilis one again returned to the place and settled there and the tiles are the relics of the same period.

Speaking to the reporters who were visiting the site, Choobak said in her opinion the place, in addition to being a research center, could become an important educational center for the typology of pottery in the Caspian cultural region as well as the Islamic period.

Choobak pointed to the discovery of over 7,200 pottery pieces just in one exploration workshop and noted that over one hundred thousand pottery pieces are available in the Alamut Information System.

Stressing that in the Alamut base nothing would be throw away and all the pottery pieces are collected and classified, she said about 29 types of pottery, each with a subset, have been classified and studied.

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