15 October 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

A new study reveals the Achaemenid Kingdom paid its workers silver

A new study on inscribed clay tablets that were used in the treasury archives of the Achaemenid Empire revealed that the workers of the mighty kingdom were paid for their wages with silver coins.

Iranian experts managed to decode the texts found on clay tablets. They were created during the reign of the Persian king Darius the Great. As could be ascertained, it turned out to be just a kind of “accounting records” which confirm that the workers’ wages at that time were actually paid in silver.

Conducted by Iranian archaeologist Soheli Delshad, the study investigated 33 clay tablets, the majority of which dating back to the time of Darius I (Darius the Great), who was the third Persian King of Kings, reigning from 522 BC until he died in 486 BC.

Darius I (Darius the Great) was one of the greatest rulers of the Achaemenid dynasty, who was noted for his administrative genius and his great building projects.

Delshad told ILNA on Wednesday that 28 of the tablets, all of which carry Elamite cuneiform, were chosen from Persepolis’ royal treasury and the remaining four from a fort archive.



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



The tablets reveal that the wages of workers were paid in silver from the king’s treasury, he stated.

Proto Elamite
Proto Elamite. Photo: Visita Iran

Soheli Delshad and his colleagues worked hard to decipher what was written. The tablets indicated to whom the salary was paid and in what amount.  At the same time, only silver coins were taken from the royal treasury. A total of 136 people are said to have worked as plasterers or bricklayers. It is worth mentioning that this is the first time that it has been able to get genuine proof that workers’ salaries were paid in silver.

Hundreds of Achaemenid clay tablets and related fragments, which had been on loan from Iran to the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago since 1935, were returned to Iran in 2019.

Archaeologists from the University of Chicago found the tablets in the 1930s while digging in Persepolis, the Persian Empire’s ceremonial capital. The Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago, however, has resumed work in conjunction with colleagues in Iran, and the repatriation of the tablets is part of an expansion of relations between researchers in the two nations, according to Gil Stein, director of the Oriental Institute.

The tablets reveal the economic, social, and religious history of the Achaemenid Empire (550-330 BC) and the larger Near Eastern region in the fifth century BC.

Linear Elamite
Linear Elamite

Elamite language, an extinct language spoken by the Elamites in the ancient nation of Elam, encompassed the territory from the Mesopotamian plain to the Iranian Plateau. According to Britannica, Elamite documents from three historical periods have been found.

The earliest Elamite writings originate from the middle of the third millennium BC and are written in a figurative or pictographic script.

Texts from the second era, which spanned from the 16th to the 8th centuries BC, are written in cuneiform; the linguistic stage seen in these documents is often referred to as Old Elamite.

The last period of Elamite writings is that of the Achaemenian rulers of Persia (6th to 4th century BC), who employed Elamite in their inscriptions alongside Akkadian and Old Persian. This period’s language, which was likewise written in cuneiform script, is known as New Elamite.

ILNA

Cover Photo: Tablet in Elamite language, from Louvre. Wikipedia

Related Articles

3600-year-old lead weights were unearthed in the Kumluca Bronze Age Shipwreck, one of the oldest shipwrecks in the world

27 November 2022

27 November 2022

Underwater archaeological work continues in the Bronze Age shipwreck off Antalya Kumluca, one of the oldest shipwrecks in the world....

In Peru, Archaeologists Discovered an Ancient Dance Floor that can Imitate Rumbling of Thunder

21 July 2023

21 July 2023

Archaeologists have discovered an ancient “sounding” dance floor in Peru that was designed to create a drum-like sound when stepped...

The Famous Cueva de Ardales cave in Spain was used by ancient humans for over 50,000 years

8 June 2022

8 June 2022

Cueva de Ardales cave in Málaga, Spain,  famed for the extensive prehistoric art on its walls was excavated for the...

UK’s Oldest Hospice Discovered: Anglo-Saxon Monastery Unearthed in Cookham Reveals Early Medical Care

11 August 2025

11 August 2025

An extraordinary archaeological discovery in Cookham, Berkshire, is rewriting our understanding of healthcare in early medieval England. Unearthed behind the...

Seven metal detectorists found 2,584 silver coins in a southwest England field “the most expensive treasure ever found in the United Kingdom”

27 October 2024

27 October 2024

In early 2019, seven metal detectorists found a cache of 2,584 silver coins dating to the Norman Conquest that had...

Remains of first Islamic madrassa found in Turkey’s Harran

1 December 2021

1 December 2021

The remnants of a 12th-century madrassa (Islamic institution of higher instruction) have been discovered in the archaeological site of Harran,...

Divers Uncover Over 1,000 Spanish Coins Worth $1 Million from Florida’s 1715 ‘Treasure Fleet’ Shipwrecks

3 October 2025

3 October 2025

More than three centuries after one of the most devastating maritime disasters of the Americas, divers off Florida’s east coast...

AI Uncovers Lost Babylonian Hymn After 3,000 Years — A Glorious Ode to the Ancient City

3 July 2025

3 July 2025

Archaeologists and AI experts uncover a 3,000-year-old hymn praising Babylon‘s grandeur, revealing rare insights into ancient urban society, education, and...

Rare Roman Articulated Terracotta Doll Unearthed at Torreparedones Archaeological Park

25 September 2025

25 September 2025

Archaeologists working at the Torreparedones Archaeological Park in Baena, Córdoba, Spain, have made a remarkable discovery: a rare Roman-era articulated...

Countless Votive Offerings Discovered at Ancient Sanctuary on Greek Island Kythnos

10 June 2023

10 June 2023

Archaeologists excavating a hilltop temple complex on the Cycladic island of Kythnos (commonly called Thermia) Greece have unearthed more than...

First Human Figurine of the Mesolithic Era (Circa 9000 Years Old) Discovered in Azerbaijan’s Damjili Cave

19 April 2025

19 April 2025

A groundbreaking discovery has been made in the Damjili Cave in Azerbaijan’s Gazakh district: the first human figurine from the...

A Christian monastery, possibly pre-dating Islam, found in UAE

6 November 2022

6 November 2022

A Christian monastery has been discovered on the island of Siniyah off the coast of the United Arab Emirates (UAE),...

Hoard of Thousands of Coins Buried During Europe’s Most Turbulent Years Discovered

14 September 2025

14 September 2025

Discovery in Świerszczów near Hrubieszów sheds light on everyday currency and hidden treasures of the early modern era A remarkable...

Secrets of the Skull Room: 12 Ancient Human Skulls Unearthed in Sefertepe Excavations

16 September 2025

16 September 2025

Archaeologists have uncovered 12 new human skulls during ongoing excavations at Sefertepe, one of the most important sites of the...

7,000-Year-Old Animal-Figured Seals Found in Arslantepe, Anatolia’s First City-State

27 August 2024

27 August 2024

Archaeologists working at the Arslantepe Mound (Turkish: Arslantepe Höyük), a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Türkiye’s eastern Malatya province and...