Discovery of a 4,600-year-old board game and an engraved bone comb in Shahr-e Sukhteh

Archaeologists, in the twenty-first season of excavations at Shahr-e Sukhteh, located 56 kilometers south of Zabol County in Sistan and Baluchestan province, discovered a rare collection of evidence of cultural and social life, including a 4,600-year-old board game, an engraved bone comb, remains of organic materials including eggs, cloth, and leather, and new types of burials. These findings provide fresh information about the social, cultural, and economic life of the inhabitants of Shahr-e Sukhteh in the third millennium BCE.

According to Mehr, Ruhollah Shirazi, head of the Shahr-e Sukhteh excavation team, said the discovered board game could help in understanding the social life and the people’s pastimes in this city 4,600 years ago. According to him, the findings show that life in Shahr-e Sukhteh was not limited to livelihood, productive activities, and meeting basic needs.

Shirazi also reported the discovery of an engraved bone comb and said that so far no similar sample has been found in this region, and similar examples have only been reported from some sites in Central Asia. He added that this comb could provide researchers with information about art, construction technology, decoration and grooming practices, and the cultural connections of the residents of Shahr-e Sukhteh.

In these excavations as well, remains of eggs, cloth, and leather were obtained. Preserving these materials after thousands of years makes it possible to examine how people lived, technology, the economy, and patterns of consumption in this city. Archaeologists also identified new burial types, plain, decorated, and colorful pottery, animal remains, stone tools, animal figurines, and hearths.