Tehran, August 26 : A team of international archeologists has unearthed over 100 prehistoric mounds in the Darestan region of Iran's Kerman Province, which date back to the Bronze Age.

According to a report in Press TV, experts from Iran, France, England and the US found evidence of pre-pottery Neolithic human settlements, which lasted until the late Bronze Age and gradually faded away for unknown reasons.

Such settlements are unique among the archeological finds of the Near East.

"The only prehistoric human settlement found in Darestan was Telle Atashi Pre-Pottery Neolithic village near the city of Bam in Kerman Province," said team-director Omran Garajian.

Archeologists believe environmental changes might have forced settlers to abandon their homes.

Darestan is located some 22 kilometers to the east of the city of Bam, which was struck by a 6.6-magnitude earthquake in 2003.

ANI