The Patrimonial Projects programme builds on the DFG-funded Mining Landscapes project of SPP 2176 (https://iranhighlands.com/mining-landscapes/). The research and the results from the archaeological excavations and surveys are being expanded by experts into the fields of preservation of cultural heritage, structural development, participation of society, communication of science and ethical discussions. The following projects are part of this:

The Salt Men of Iran, The Cultural Heritage of the Salt Mummy Museum in Zanjān.

Funding: Gerda Henkel Foundation (GER), Prince Claus Fund (NL)
Link/videos:

• https://lisa.gerda-henkel-stiftung.de/patrimonial_projects
• https://lisa.gerda-henkel-stiftung.de/zanjan_1?language=en
• https://www.tod-im-salz.de

The Water Project, Water, Education and Tourism in the Rural Mahneshan Region/Iran.

Funding: Gerda Henkel Foundation (GER)
Link/video:

• https://lisa.gerda-henkel-stiftung.de/beitraege?user_id=374 

The Open-Lab, The Conservation of the Saltmen of Zanjan (completed)

Funding: German Federal Foreign Office
Link/video:

• https://lisa.gerda-henkel-stiftung.de/die_geheimnisse_der_salzmaenner_von_zanjan_the_open_lab_project_or_the_secrets_of_the_salt_men?nav_id=9486 (new link to follow)
• https://lisa.gerda-henkel-stiftung.de/einladung_zur_diskussion_kulturerbe_mumien_und_wuerde?nav_id=9744

Participating Institutions:

In reverse alphabetical order:

Zanjan Saltmen and Archaeological Museum (ZSAM); Zanjan Province Water Institute; Zanjan Cultural Heritage Organisation (ZCHTO); Research Institute for Cultural Heritage and Tourism (RICHT); Research Center for Conservation of Cultural Relics (RCCCR); Prince Claus Fund/NL; NBK Innovationsberatung für Museum und Kulturerbe; National Museum of Iran (NMI); Museum of Natural History, Vienna (NMI); Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts (MCTH); Leibniz-Zentrum für Archäologie (LEIZA, former RGZM); IKONYK GmbH; Kaczmarek Stadtplanung; Institute IWAR, Technical University Darmstadt; Institute of Evolutionary Medicine – Universität Zürich; German Research Foundation; German Mining Museum, Bochum (DBM); German Foreign Ministry; Gerda Henkel Foundation and other.

Publications:

Grömer, Karina/Aali, Abolfazl/Stöllner, Thomas/Bagherpour Kashani, Natascha/Ruß-Popa, Gabriela 2018: Kleidungs- und Textilgeschichte aus dem Salz. Forschungen im Salzbergwerk Chehrabad, Iran. UNIVERSUM Magazin.

Grömer, Karina/Bagherpour Kashani, Natascha 2018: The Saltmummies of Zanjan. Textile Research in Iran in a Conservation and Exhibition Project. Archaeological Textiles Review 60, 110–113.

Stöllner, Thomas/Aali, Abolfazl/ Bagherpour Kashani, Natascha (Hrsg.) 2020: Tod im Salz. Eine Archäologische Ermittlung in Persien. Begleitbuch, Katalog und Graphic Novel. Bochum.

Bagherpour Kashani, Natascha 2020: Herausforderungen, Entdeckungen, Chancen. In: T. Stöllner/A. Aali/N. Bagherpour (Hrsg.), Tod im Salz. Eine Archäologische Ermittlung in Persien. Begleitbuch, Katalog und Graphic Novel. Bochum, 225–234.

Yoshida, Maruchi/Bagherpour Kashani, Natascha/Amin Shirazi, Shahrzad 2021: The Saltmen of Iran – Preserving Cultural Heritage and Securing Livelihoods in Times of Social Transformation and Volatile Political Climate. Papers In Conservation 38, 41–58.

Bagherpour Kashani, Natascha/Yoshida, Maruchi/Stöllner, Thomas 2021: Die Salzmänner von Iran. Kulturerhalt als Treiber und Ermöglicher einer nachhaltigen Entwicklung. Museumskunde 1, 34–42.

Bagherpour Kashani, Natascha/Yoshida, Maruchi 2022: The Saltmen of Iran – Cultural Heritage as Driver and Enabler of Sustainable Development and Growth. In: ICOM ICMAH Annual Conference Proceeding 2022. https://icmah.mini.icom.museum/wp-content/uploads/sites/56/2023/05/Papers-Part-1-updated-1.pdf (zuletzt abgerufen am 04.08.2025).

Yoshida, Maruchi/Bagherpour Kashani, Natascha/Aali, Abolfazl/Zifar, Hamed/Shirazi, Shahrzad Amin/Qasim, Hassan Ahmed 2024: Sustainable Cultural Preservation in Central Asia – Involving Local Communities as Caretakers of Archaeological Sites. Studies in Conservation 69 (sup1), 369–375. https://doi.org/10.1080/00393630.2024.2347108 (zuletzt abgerufen am 21.11.2025).

Bagherpour Kashani, Natascha/Boenke, Nicole/Herd, Rainer 2025: The Resource Water, Climate Change, and Resilience at Douzlakh. In: K. A. Franke/T. Stöllner/N. Nezafati/M. Mishmastnehi/M. Kehl (Hrsg.), ResourceScapes in the Iranian Highlands. Soils, Water, Wind and Minerals as Factors of Appropriation and Integration, 105-110.

Öhrström, Lena/Bagherpour Kashani, Natascha/Seiler, Roger/Bode, Beata/Aali, Abolfazl/Soltani, Sara Khalifeh/Aghlaghpour, Sharam/Shirani, Shapour/Ruß-Popa, Gabriela/Stöllner, Thomas/Rühli, Frank 2025: Paleopathological assessment of the ancient Iranian salt mummies #1, #7 and #X, Chehrābād salt mine of Douzlākh, Iran. Journal of Iran National Museum, 181–188. https://doi.org/10.22034/JINM.2023.544674.1050 (zuletzt abgerufen am 17.08.2025)

Yoshida, Maruchi/Bagherpour Kashani, Natascha 2025: Überlegungen zum würdevollen Umgang mit menschlichen Überresten – Die Salzmänner von Zanjan in Iran im fachübergreifenden Diskurs. Restauro 7, 26-37.

Bagherpour Kashani, Natascha 2026: Developments in archaeology and museums – Moving into the future through equal interdisciplinarity and fee-based expertise. In: Seidl da Fonseca, Helena/ Grömer, Karina/ Črešnar, Matija /Löw, Carmen/ Alpino, Nadine (eds) 2026: Coordination, dissemination and communication – management tasks and archaeology. Prähistorische Forschungen Online PfOn Band 14/2025, 62–71.