The ancient city of Shahdad was discovered in the excavations of 1986 by the Archeological Institute of Iran and named Arata, after the legendry ancient Sumerian city, known for its precious metals and stones; In Sumerian literature, this city is unattainable and in faraway lands. The city is known to be located at the east of Anshan, and previously was assumed to be the burned city of Sistan, but when this city was found, some consider it to be the ancient city of Arata. The place was not an archeological target since the possibility of cities in the middle of the desert seemed unlikely, but geographical research in the area accidentally revealed the existence of an ancient city. The cemetery of this city is one of the most important archeological discoveries of contemporary time. since they believed in an afterlife, personal belongings (from food and water to jewelry and dishware and dresses) were buried with the dead; the findings of these graves gave invaluable information about the city and people of that time. the most prominent finding of this site is the bronze flag, proven to be the oldest flag of the world, with pictures of trees (palm), 5 human beings in different sizes, two lions and a bull.
