Iranica Antiqua, vol. XLVII, 2012 doi: 10.2143/IA-47.0.2141961 THE IRON AGE "ZAGROS GRAVEYARD" NEAR SANANDAJ (IRANIAN KURDISTAN): PRELIMINARY REPORT ON THE EIRST SEASON BY Sheler AMELIRAD', Bruno OVERLAET^'^ & Ernie HAERINCK^ ('Cultural Heritage, Iran; ^ Royal Museums of Art & History, Brussels, ^Ghent University) Abstract: An Iron Age graveyard, for the most part dating from the 8* - 7* cen- tury BC, was accidentally discovered in 2008 during road works near Sanandaj, Iranian Kurdistan. Rescue excavations were conducted by the Cultural Heritage Department in Sanandaj. The present contribution reports on these first excava- tions during which more than 20 graves were discovered in two squares and a trench. A selection of the graves and the burial goods are discussed. Keywords: Kurdistan, Iran, Iron Age, Graveyard, Zagros Cemetery The Iron Age "Zagros Graveyard", located in the Iranian province of Kurdistan, was accidentally discovered in November 2008 (Aban 1387) during the widening of the Hasanabad - Sanandaj road. The site is situated close to Zagros Town, at the foot of the Abidar discontinuous mountain and to the southwest of Sanandaj (PI. 1 & 2). Mr. Faeq Tawhidi directed the rescue excavations. Two squares and a trench were excavated and more than 20 graves were discovered. The excavations indicated that the graveyard is certainly more extensive but the remainder was left for future excavations. None of the authors of the present report participated in the excavations and we are grateful to the Cultural Heritage Department in Sanandaj for putting some of the Sanandaj material at our disposal, as well as to Mr. Eqbal Azizi who made the pottery drawings. The initial press-reports on the Sanandaj graveyard mentioned the discovery of five burials with spears, bronze bracelets and earthenware during the first week of the excavations (Paivand News 11/20/2008). Within a week, however, a hoax was created around this discovery that gained worldwide momentum through blogs and websites. Reports and press releases began mentioning the discovery of six corpses instead of five and they became a "mummified king and five of his bodyguards". This media frenzy was supported by a 36 seconds video-fragment that was placed on You Tube and various other sites. It is the orchestrated "discovery" of a bearded mummified "king" with a crown, a gem