Ancient cemetery of erected penis-shaped tombstones targeted by grave robbers
dailystar.co.ukREAD MORE: Horror map shows potential nuclear fallout from Putin's plans - with 13 countries at risk The exact age of the tombstones is unknown, in part because of Iran's national embarrassment over the lewd burial site, the Mirror reports.
There is also little scholarship surrounding the burial grounds and the symbolism behind the explicit stones remains a mystery.Anthropologists speculate the site could be traced back to phallus-worshippers from Central Asia and India - but there is no evidence to prove this theory.The government-protected site now plays host to hundreds of filthy-minded visitors each year, as well as those of purer heart - the cemetery is also home to a 4th-century tomb belonging to Yemeni Christian prophet, Khaled, which hundreds of Turkmens visit each year in a pilgrimage.However, not everybody who visits the grounds has good intentions.In 2015, robbers were reported to be looting the graves and helping themselves to more than a handful of explicit souvenirs from the site.A citizen journalist for IranWire reported being horrified by the damage done to the historic graves.The report said: "According to local residents who live nearby, on days when the site is empty of tourists, certain individuals sneak in and vandalise the stones."Reports indicate that as recently as the 1980s there were around 600 stones at the site, of which no more than 200 remain, some of which are broken or damaged.
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