The historical city of Susa in Khuzestan Province and the ancient Meymand village in Kerman Province were inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List on Saturday.

The decision was made during the World Heritage Committee’s 39th session in Bonn that will continue until July 8, Mehr News Agency reported.

Iran now boasts 19 World Heritage Sites.

On UNESCO’s ‘Tentative List’ since 2007, Susa is one of the oldest cities in the world. Archeological studies indicate the city was continuously inhabited from 4000 BC to 900 AD. During that period, it served as the capital of the Elamites and subsequently the Achaemenid Empire.

The ancient village of Meymand is Iran’s oldest surviving village, having been inhabited for nearly 3,000 years. It was set to receive world heritage status in 2013, but the jury found its dossier to be incomplete.

Meymand – a village of troglodytes, or cave dwellers – received UNESCO’s Melina Mercouri International Prize for the Safeguarding and Management of Cultural Landscapes in 2005.

By Financial Tribune