The Ancient Cemetery of Khark Island

The Ancient Cemetery of the Khark Island (Bushehr Province), which can be attributed to the late Sassanid era and the Zoroastrians of that period, is located somewhere in the mountains of the Khark coral island. There are many graves in this cemetery and due to the shallow depth and the circular surface of some of them, it can be said that this cemetery belonged to the Zoroastrians of the time.

There are also some graves with short entrances having the image of a cross on them, which shows that Christians also buried their dead in this cemetery. Nothing has been found from the men’s graves, but small glasses - possibly of perfumes - as well as low-cost jewelry such as rings and bronze mirrors have been found in the women’s graves.

Even though a number of tombs remain intact, following years of continuous occupation of the island some other graves have either been excavated or reused. All the graves were dug into the rock and a rectangle piece of Lahad (a rectangle hole dug at the bottom of the grave to the side facing the qibla) cover made of plaster had been placed on the graves.

From the variety and number of temples existing on the island, it can be concluded that various ethnic groups and nations such as Iranians, Greeks, Palmarians, and Arabs lived on the island since ancient times, even before the birth of Christ (as).

A fire temple, a Greek temple, a monastery, a Nestorian church, an old mosque, and an ancient cemetery in the eastern part of the island are among the remnants of the sacred places of the people of Khark Island. Studies show that four of the largest religions in the world existed in different forms on the island.

Due to its antiquity and type of construction, the Ancient Cemetery of Khark Island is one of the tourist attractions of the beautiful island of Khark.