Two recently discovered subterranean rock-cut complexes in Qushchi, Iran

 = Paper = 

This article describes two recently discovered rock-cut structures in Qushchi, Islamic Republic of Iran, a place already known for a hoard of objects discovered in the beginning of 20th century AD. Qushchi is a village on the western shore of Lake Orumiyeh, in the Anzal district of Orumiyeh Country in Western Iranian Azerbaijan. These new rock-cut complexes were identified during construction work in an isolated area in the mountains, about 4 km north-west of Qushchi village, 50 metres above the old road that connected Qushchi with Salmas, and not far from a gas pipeline. Nothing has ever been published about these rock-cut complexes; they were not visible at the time of the surveys conducted by Wolfram Kleiss in the region between 1967 and 1978, because the complex was completely covered by soil. Although provincial authority specialists have made recent visits there, no reports or other documents are present in the Orumiyeh cultural heritage service archives. The two rock-cut complexes have been called Qushchi-2 and Qushchi-3 due to the presence in the area of another complex that we have called Qushchi-1, where the hoard has been identified. These complexes are markedly different from others attested in the region.