Mysterious find preceded by two months of illegal excavations in Kerman province

In August 2005, a tiny mummified body was found near the city of Shehdad in Iran. The news aroused incredible interest when researchers reported that the remains belonged to a midget teenager, and the place was supposedly a city of little people that once existed.

The mysterious find, according to the Society of Explorers of Ancient Iran (CAIS), was preceded by two months of illegal excavations in the province of Kerman near the city of Shehdad, in the historical fortress of Gudiz, which dates back to the period of the Sassanid Empire (224 to 651 AD). Before the rise of Islam, it was the last empire in Iran.

Later, the mummy was taken out of the country and smugglers tried to sell it in Germany, valuing the artifact in excess of $3 million. The 25 cm well-preserved body was covered with a thin film, which was initially believed to have been created from mummification materials. It was later determined that this was the skin of an individual. Initial analyzes by forensic experts showed that the man was 16-17 years old at the time of death.

The discovery gave rise to many rumors about the discovery of a city of Lilliputians, similar to the one described in the story “Gulliver’s Travels”.

The Iran Daily newspaper reported that the walls in the village’s houses are only 80 cm high. In addition, the architecture of the houses and alleys is rather strange. Also walls, ceiling, fireboxes, shelves and all equipment could only be used by dwarfs. Moreover, the age of the found houses reaches several thousand years and they do not belong to the period of the last empire of Iran. After 5,000 years since the departure of the dwarfs from the city, most of the territory has gone underground, so the reason for the migration of small people remains a mystery, the newspaper writes.

In turn, archaeologists denied rumors about the existence of such a city. “The 38-year-old archaeological excavations in the city of Shehdad indicate that there were no Lilliputians in the region. The remaining houses with walls 80 cm high were originally 190 cm high. Some of the remaining walls reach a height of 5 cm, so why are we supposed to say that the people who lived in these houses were 5 centimeters tall? wonders the head of the archaeological excavations Mirabedin Kaboli.

Other experts have also ruled out any speculation about the existence of the city, which is mentioned in local legends. “Even if it is proven that the mummy belongs to a dwarf, we cannot say with certainty that the area where his body was found was once a city of Lilliputians,” said Javadi, an archaeologist from the Kerman Province Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization.