17 September 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.

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

Traces of 9300-year-old settlement unearthed near Volcanic Cappadocia in central Turkey

28 August 2022

28 August 2022

During the most recent excavations at Sırçalıtepe Mound (Sırçalıtepe Höyük) in Türkiye’s central Niğde province, archaeologists discovered traces of a...

3,500-Year-Old Dining Set Found at Konya Karahöyük, in Türkiye

5 September 2025

5 September 2025

Archaeologists in Türkiye have uncovered an extraordinary 3,500-year-old dining set, including a jug, plate, and cup, during excavations at Konya’s...

The Discovery of nobleman Khuwy could rewrite Egypt history

25 October 2021

25 October 2021

The mummified corpse of an ancient Egyptian nobleman named Khuwy, discovered in 2019, showed the ancient Egyptians were carrying out...

1,400-Year-Old Bronze Cauldron Discovered in Pergamon’s ‘Mosaic House’

27 July 2025

27 July 2025

A remarkable archaeological discovery has been made in the ancient city of Pergamon (modern-day Bergama) in Turkey’s İzmir Province. Excavations...

Researchers sequenced the DNA 1,600-year-old sheep mummy from an ancient Iranian salt mine, Chehrabad

16 July 2021

16 July 2021

A multinational team of geneticists and archaeologists sequenced the DNA from a 1,600-year-old sheep mummy discovered from Chehrabad, a salt...

Submerged Roman structure of concentric walls discovered on Italy’s western coast

3 June 2024

3 June 2024

Archaeologists have recently uncovered a significant Roman-era structure submerged near the coastline of Campo di Mare on Italy’s western coast....

40 Skeletons in Giant Jars Found in the Corsica Necropolis

16 May 2021

16 May 2021

Archaeologists working on the French island of Corsica discovered around 40 ancient graves where persons were buried inside gigantic jars...

Sheikh Sultan Opened ‘Tales from the East’ Exhibition

28 April 2021

28 April 2021

The opening of the ‘Tales from the East’ exhibition organized by the Sharjah Book Authority (SBA) was held with the...

In Bergama, the City of Greek Gods, the People Kept the Cult of Cybele Alive

25 August 2021

25 August 2021

The figurines of Cybele, the goddess of the fertility of Anatolia, and the presence of sanctuaries unearthed in the Ancient...

Antikythera underwater excavation digs up new discoveries “huge marble head”

20 June 2022

20 June 2022

The second phase of underwater archaeological research (May 23 to June 15, 2022) on the Antikythera shipwreck resulted in the...

Possible Pirate Ship La Fortuna Among Four Historic Shipwrecks Found off North Carolina

8 August 2025

8 August 2025

One of four recently discovered shipwrecks near Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson may be the 18th-century Spanish privateer that exploded in 1748...

Love and hate in ancient times: Exploring Magical Texts

6 February 2024

6 February 2024

Love and hate are universal emotions that have persisted throughout human history. Ancient civilizations developed their own distinct methods of...

A Baptismal Surprise: Triton Baths in Southeastern Rome Converted into Early Christian Church

7 May 2025

7 May 2025

Recent archaeological excavations within the monumental complex of the Villa di Sette Bassi, situated in the southeastern outskirts of Rome,...

1700-year-old weaving workshop discovered in southeast Turkey

4 December 2021

4 December 2021

Excavations carried out in the ancient city of Perre in the southeastern province of Adıyaman have unearthed a 1,700-year-old weaving...

Trier University’s Digital Coin Cabinet is Now Accessible

19 February 2024

19 February 2024

Historical coins are much more than just pieces of jewelry for collections and exhibitions and are of particular interest for...