Picture of the day for March 1, 2018

Picture of the day on March 1, 2018: Panoramic view of the ancient Naqsh-e Rustam necropolis located about 12 km northwest of Persepolis, in Fars Province, Iran. The site includes rock reliefs of Achaemenid and Sassanid periods, 4 tombs of Achaemenid kings and a Cube of Zoroaster (far left). The reliefs are the oldest elements (the oldest one from 1000 BC) of Elamite origin. The tombs were carved out of the rock and belong (left to right) to Darius II (c. 423-404 BC), Artaxerxes I (c. 465-424 BC), Darius I (c. 522-486 BC) and Xerxes I (c. 486-465 BC). The Cube of Zoroaster belongs to the Achaemenid era (5th century BC) and its purpose is still unclear.