Shahr-i Sokhta (“Burnt City”) is an archaeological site of a Bronze Age urban settlement.

It is associated with the Jiroft culture, an “independent Bronze Age civilization with its own architecture and language”, intermediate between Elam to the west and the Indus Valley Civilization to the east.

Covering an area of 151 hectares, Shahr-i Sokhta was one of the world’s largest cities at the dawn of the urban era. In the western part of the site is a vast graveyard. It contains between 25,000 to 40,000 ancient graves

The settlement appeared around 3200 BC. The city had four stages of civilization and was burnt down three times before being abandoned in 2100 BC. The site was discovered and investigated by Aurel Stein in the early 1900s.

This historical city and the most important ancient site of Sistan is located next to the Helmand River and at the highest northwestern edge of the old delta, whose existence in the fourth and third millennia BC is due to the Helmand River.

The 5,000-year-old Shahr-I Sokhta (Shahr-e Sukhte, Burnt City) of Sistan, as the largest ancient city on the Iranian plateau, is a pristine destination for domestic and foreign tourists. Shahr-I Sokhta is the name of the remnants of the ancient city government in Iran. it is located 56 km from Zabol on the Zabol – Zahedan road in eastern Iran and in northern Sistan and Baluchistan. The city was built on the alluvium of the Helmand River to Lake Hamoon and on its shores.

The study of the remains of this city shows the evolution of various sciences and technologies on the plateau of Iran. These different sciences and technologies include archeology, sociology, trade, commerce and international exchanges, the history of the evolution of religions in prehistoric and historical periods, the history of urbanization and urban planning, the evolution of architecture, the evolution of traditional arts and technologies, History of medicine and related sciences, zoology, nutrition, agriculture, animal husbandry, entomology, botany, geology, metalworking, jewelry making, weaving.

Traces of the oldest surgical specimens, the oldest specimens of existing fabrics, the oldest mosaics, and the recent discovery of the oldest specimens of cumin, coriander, and wild pistachios are among the information and data obtained in this site. It was registered as UNESCO world heritage site in 2014.