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Makhunik: 5,000-Year-Old City Of The Dwarfs Discovered

Vardoger

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MessageToEagle.com - Welcome to the city of Makhunik, the home of the Little People or as it has now been called the City of the Dwarf.

The story of Makhunik brings to mind the image of 'Liliput City (Court of Lilliput)' described in Jonathan Swift's famous novel, Gulliver's Travels or perhaps even the world of Hobbits in J. R. R. Tolkien's book and movie Lord of the Rings.

However, this story is not a fantasy. It is a real fascinating archaeological discovery.

Makhunik is an an ancient Iranian city unearthed in Shahdad, Kerman province, where dwarfs lived 5,000 years ago. It is known as Shahr-e Kotouleha (City of Dwarfs).

According to Iran Daily, "nobody thought an ancient civilization could exist in this desert until 1946.

However, following studies conducted by the Geography Faculty of Tehran University in 1946, potteries were discovered in Shahdad as evidence of a civilization that flourished in Lut Desert.

Given the importance of the issue, a group of archeologists visited the area and conducted studies that led to the discovery of civilizations belonging to prehistoric times (end of 4th millennium BC and beginning of 3rd millennium BC).

Scientific and archeological excavations were conducted in this region during 1948-56. Cemeteries belonging to 2nd and 3rd millennium BC and copper furnaces were discovered during eight excavation phases. Relics discovered in Shahdad's cemeteries included numerous potteries and brassware.

Shahdad's ancient region is spread over 60 kilometers in the heart of Lut Desert. The city includes workshops, residential districts and cemeteries. Archeological studies in the residential district known as City of Dwarfs revealed the presence of sub-districts in which jewelers, craftsmen and farmers lived. Over 800 ancient graves have been excavated during the excavation phases.

Archeological surveys in the City of Dwarfs indicate that the inhabitants abandoned the area due to drought 5,000 years ago and never returned. Mir-Abedin Kaboli, who oversees Shahdad's archeological excavations, said, "Following latest excavations, we noticed that inhabitants of Shahdad had left many of their belongings at homes and covered the doors with mud.

He said this shows that they were hopeful of returning one day.

Kaboli attributes the departure of Shahdad people to the phenomenon of drought.

A significant aspect about Shahdad is the strange architecture of the houses, alleys and equipment discovered.

The walls, ceiling, furnaces, shelves and all the equipments could only be used by dwarfs. After the discovery of City of Dwarfs in Shahdad and stories about peoples who lived there, rumors circulated about the discovery of a dwarf's remains.

The latest case pertained to the discovery of a dwarf mummy with a height of 25 cm. The smugglers wanted to sell it at 80 billion rials in Germany.

The news of the arrest of two smugglers and the discovery of a strange mummy spread fast across Kerman province. Subsequently, Kerman Cultural Heritage Department and police officials sat down to clarify the condition of the mummy that reportedly belongs to a 17-year-old person."

Some archaeologists are cautious and even deny the city of Makhunik was once inhabited by ancient dwarfs.

"Since forensic studies could not determine the sexuality of the corpse, we can not rely on them to talk about the height and the age of the body, and more anthropological studies are still needed to find out the details about the discovery," says Javadi, archeologist of the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization of Kerman province. "Even if it is proved that the corpse belongs to a dwarf, we can not say for sure that the region of its discovery in Kerman province was the city of dwarfs. This is a very old region, which has been buried due to geographical changes. Besides technology was not so developed at that time so people may not have been able to build high walls for their houses," he adds.

"Regarding the fact that in none of the periods in the history of Iran, we have had mummies, it is not accepted at all that this corpse is mummified. If this corpse is found to belong to Iran, it would be a fake one. Due to the minerals existing in the soil of this region, all of the skeletons here are decayed and no intact skeleton has been found so far. On the other hand the 38-year archeological excavations in Shahdad city deny any dwarf city in the region. The remained houses which their walls are 80 centimeters high were originally 190 centimeters. Some of the remained walls are 5 centimeters high, therefore should we claim that the people who live in these houses were 5 centimeters tall?" says Mirabedin Kaboli, head of archaeological excavations in Shahdad city."

Yet, stories of the Little People have been part of the folklore of many cultures in human history. Physical remains of tiny people have been reported found in various locations, for example in the western United States, particularly Montana and Wyoming. So why couldn't these beings have existed in ancient Iran?

Interestingly, research at the area revealed that even some years ago, the height of people in Makhunik seldom reached 150 cm but now they have about normal size.

After a lapse of 5,000 years since the departure of dwarfs from the city, a large swathe of this prehistoric region lies buried in soil and the migration of Shahdad's dwarfs remains clouded in mystery.

Many would like to know why Shahdad's dwarfs covered the doors of their homes with mud and never returned.

Read more: messagetoeagle.com/makhunik.php
Link is dead. The MIA webpage (largely quoted above) can be accessed at the Wayback Machine:


https://web.archive.org/web/20140603232007/http://www.messagetoeagle.com/makhunik.php
 
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I'd would rather see clear pictures of "The walls, ceiling, furnaces, shelves and all the equipments" that "could only be used by dwarfs" than pictures of a supposed seventeen year old that is probably a mummified foetus.

Story said:
Some archaeologists are cautious and even deny the city of Makhunik was once inhabited by ancient dwarfs.

Even deny the city was once inhabited by people who, at adulthood, where 25cm in height. How could they be so sceptical? The evidence is right there, on the website, dammit. Right there!!!

Story said:
Yet, stories of the Little People have been part of the folklore of many cultures in human history.

Indeed. So, where are all the other lilliputian cities around the world?

Story said:
Physical remains of tiny people have been reported found in various locations, for example in the western United States, particularly Montana and Wyoming. So why couldn't these beings have existed in ancient Iran?

When we produce these physical remains that have been reported (and shown not to be foetal) then we can ask the question with some justification; why not in Iran?

On the other hand, did "Javadi" really say this:
Javadi said:
Since forensic studies could not determine the sexuality of the corpse, we can not rely on them to talk about the height and the age of the body...

Apparently, those in the profession of forensic archaeology lack the skill of using a ruler. "You want to know what? How high he was? We're forensic scientists, for crying out loud. SOMEONE CALL FOR A MATHEMATICIAN!"
 
The only thing missing in this story is ancient aliens. :D
 
SameOldVardoger said:
"Since forensic studies could not determine the sexuality of the corpse,

Damn, and here I was all geared up to find out if the mummified dwarf was gay or straight.
 
Urvogel said:
SameOldVardoger said:
"Since forensic studies could not determine the sexuality of the corpse,

Damn, and here I was all geared up to find out if the mummified dwarf was gay or straight.

:lol:
 
... After the discovery of City of Dwarfs in Shahdad and stories about peoples who lived there, rumors circulated about the discovery of a dwarf's remains.

The latest case pertained to the discovery of a dwarf mummy with a height of 25 cm. The smugglers wanted to sell it at 80 billion rials in Germany.

The news of the arrest of two smugglers and the discovery of a strange mummy spread fast across Kerman province. Subsequently, Kerman Cultural Heritage Department and police officials sat down to clarify the condition of the mummy that reportedly belongs to a 17-year-old person." ...

The news article quoted above supposedly dates from 2014.

However, this story was debunked by Iranian news service Payvand News back in November 2005 ...

Kerman Dwarf Turned out Premature Baby

Anthropologists found that the 400-year-old dwarf of Kerman is actually a premature baby mummified under natural processes.

Anthropological studies on the discovered mummy in Shahdad city of Kerman province proved it to belong to a premature infant mummified under natural processes, despite otherwise suggestions by forensic experts. Archaeologists estimate the skeleton to belong to at least 400 years ago.

Two months ago the illegal excavations in the historical fortress of Gudiz in Kerman province near Shahdad city, which dates back to the Sassanid era, led to the discovery of a 25-centimeter corpse which came to be known as the mummified dwarf. The discovery brought a lot of questions to archaeologists and forensic studies estimated that the corpse which is 20-25 centimeters high must have been 16-17 years old at the time of death.

"The skeleton belongs to a premature baby who, due to regional conditions and its burial method, has been mummified under natural processes," says Farzad Forouzanfar, an anthropologist of the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization of Iran.

According to Forouzanfar, previous to this, some other mummies were also discovered in Kerman province. He says that whenever a corpse is exposed to some special climate conditions, it will dry out and naturally mummify.

"The skeleton was found next to a cemetery belonging to the Seljuk era (900 years ago), but archaeologists believe that it should date back to the late Islamic period. People lived in the region up to the Safavid era, but as there is no article or inscription alongside the mummy, determining the exact date of his burial is impossible," said Nader Alidadi Soliemani, archaeologist of the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization of Kerman province.

The discovery of this dwarf corpse, which was planned to be sold for more than three million U.S. dollars in Germany by two smugglers arrested by Kerman police forces, and the short height of the remained walls discovered in the area raised the hypothesis of a buried dwarf city in the area; however, archaeologists opposed the idea from the beginning. This mummified dwarf caused great sensations among the public during the last 2 months, but now the dwarf is proven to be a premature baby and the mystery is solved.

... Payvand News - 11/17/05 ... --

SOURCE: http://www.payvand.com/news/05/nov/1155.html
 
Other articles claim that the site was inhabited by dwarfs 'until about a century ago' rather than the 5,000 years claimed in the OP. There are plenty photos of an extremely intact miniature village, rather than the ruins you would expect if it were just an ancient site.

Malnutrition and inbreeding seem to be the causes. It reminds me a little of Skara Brae.

https://www.amusingplanet.com/2018/05/makhunik-village-of-dwarves.html
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20180109-irans-ancient-village-of-little-people
 
Just wait until archaeologists of the future rediscover Bourton-on-the-Water, then find that the 1:9 scale model village itself contains a 1:9 replica of the shrunken hamlet, and that contains...

maximus otter
 
Kindly rename the Thread:

Makhunik: 5,000-Year-Old City Of Persons Of Restricted Growth Discovered
 
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