Ali Kosh Mound, Dehloran

🕰️When was it built?

Ali Kosh is a Neolithic site, and several cultural phases have been identified in its layers. Excavations in the 1960s made it better known, and later the layers were studied again to revise its dating. The site was added to the National Heritage List on 24 October 2000 as number 2976.

🏛️What was it built for?

This was the home of villagers who farmed and kept herds. Studies have found signs of wheat and barley growing, goat keeping and stone tools. The mud houses and the finds from the excavations are not on display on the ground; what you see today is the mound itself.

👀What you will see

• The earthen rise of the mound itself is the visible sign of the site; the trench dug in 2017 was filled in again after the work ended.
• The mound lies among the farmland of the Musian area; see where it sits beside the fields around, and don't enter farmland.

💡Something interesting

Obsidian linked to the area around Lake Van, along with other materials such as turquoise and copper, shows that Ali Kosh was not cut off from distant regions. These clues tell of trade by a village that today looks like nothing more than an earthen mound.

🎒Good to know before you go

• This visit is about seeing the site and understanding the history of village life; don't expect open excavated houses or a museum of tools on the mound.
• Don't walk on the fragile slopes, dig into the soil or pick up pottery or stones; ask the person in charge or a local guide about the permitted path.