Excavations in Persepolis and at the nearby tombs of Nasq-e Rustam started nearly two hundred years ago, and the sites have been explored in the decades that followed.
The latest discovery was made in the upper right corner of the relief façade decorating the Tomb of Darius I at Nasq-e Rustam. A tri-lingual inscription in Persian, Elamite, and Babylonian had until now remained hidden underneath a coat of dirt and lichen.
A more in-depth description of the site has been given in one of my earlier blogs, Achaemenid Tombs at Naqsh-e Rustam and Persepolis.
Of course, using the modern technology and a special crane, researchers were able to access the corner above the head of the figure on the far right. The text has not (yet) been disclosed but academics specialized in ancient Iranian language are very excited because it contains valuable information about the inner circle of the Achaemenid kings, their associates and advisers. It also transpires that this inscription adds new verbs to all three languages.
The archaeologists evidently hope to find more such inscriptions which can be added to what is known so far about the archives of Persepolis.
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