Susa

The history of Iranian archaeology began in Susa in the 19th century. The site is located in the southeastern lowlands of Iran at the convergence of ancient trade routes between Mesopotamia and the Iranian plateau. Active since the 5th millennium B.C., Susa was the capital of the Elamites, then of the Achaemenid Persians and played a considerable role in the history of the ancient East. A great administrative center, it is in Susa that the first writings were created.