Where world’s first artificial eye was discovered

Pars Today – For the first time in the world, an artificial eye dating back 4,800 years has been discovered in Shahr-e Sukhteh (the Burnt City) in Iran.

Shahr-e Sukhteh, one of Iran’s most valuable archaeological sites and a UNESCO World Heritage site, is located about 50 kilometers from the city of Zabol in Sistan and Baluchestan province, in southeastern Iran. Its historical roots extend back over 5,000 years.

According to Pars Today, various theories have been proposed regarding the city’s name. Most experts suggest that the presence of ash layers in the soil indicates that the site suffered multiple fires in the past, though the reasons for these fires remain unknown.

The world’s first artificial eye discovered in Iran belonged to a woman aged between 25 and 30, who was buried in one of Shahr-e Sukhteh’s graves, with the eye placed on her skull. The artificial eye was installed in her left eye socket and, remarkably, has remained intact over the millennia.

The exact material of the eye is not fully confirmed, but it appears to have been made from natural bitumen mixed with some type of animal fat.

The eye is intricately detailed: the tiniest capillaries inside the eye were depicted using gold threads less than half a millimeter thick, the pupil is positioned at the center, and several parallel lines forming a near-diamond pattern surround the pupil.