Archeologists from Iran and five European countries will present their latest achievements in the archeology of Iran's western regions during an international conference in Kermanshah staring today.

Qori Qal'eh Cave, Paveh, Kermanshah,
is the deepest cave in the world

Tehran, 1 November 2006 (CHN) -- Iranian and European archeologists will get together in a conference in Kermanshah which is due to start this morning to exchange ideas and information regarding the latest archeological findings in the western regions of Iran.

"Iran's Archeology, Western Region" will be attended by renowned experts in archeology from Iran, Italy, France, the UK, Belgium, and Germany. Hasan Fazeli-Nashli, director of the Research Center of Iran's Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization (ICHTO) announced later this week that a total of 25 papers will be presented during this conference which is scheduled to be held in the western Iranian province of Kermanshah, November 1-3, 2006. The articles were chosen among 93 papers which were approved by the conference secretariat from 183 submitted by world archeologists.

He also said that the papers are solely based on scientific studies and laboratory analysis by experts on five western Iranian provinces including Khuzestan, Ilam, Kermanshah, Kurdistan, and West Azarbaijan. "In some archeological sites of western Iran, more than 100 years have passed since first excavations began. The papers submitted by the attending archeologists are mostly the results of their studies in the 1960s and 70s which started by excavation of ancient caves in this region," explained Fazeli-Nashli.

In their studies of western Iran, these archeologists have mostly focused on a historic period known as the Neolithic Revolution which marks a transition from a food gathering society to a food producing society when humans settled down to cultivate their food instead of following it. This period which falls between 8000 and 6000 BC was the time when humans chose to live in clusters and formed villages and abandoned their cave dwelling habits.

According to ICHTO's director of the Archeology Research Center, archeology of western Kermanshah is highlighted in many of the papers submitted to the secretariat of the conference and this is why this city was chosen to host this international event.