“We found the bowl buried in the grave of someone who seems to be the painter of the ‘animated’ pictures. The ‘animation’ shows five pictures of a goat which is jumping to eat the leaves of a tree. Movement is clearly seen in those pictures,” Mansur Sajjadi added.

The Burnt City is located 57 kilometers from the city of Zabol in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan Province. It covers an area of 150 hectares and used to be one of the largest cities at the dawn of the urban era. It was built in about 3200 B.C. and destroyed some time around 2100 B.C. The city had four stages of civilization and was burnt down three times. Since it was not rebuilt after the last time it was burnt down, it has been named the Burnt City.

“Archaeologists have already discovered some pictures which have been frequently repeated without any movement, but the new pictures have never been seen in any era. This is the first time that such a thing has been found by archaeologists in the Burnt City,” said Sajjadi.

He added that the team’s research indicates that the painting is the oldest known depiction of moving pictures or what is called ‘animation’ in modern times.

The goat is a nimble animal which can climb heights easily, and the artists of the Burnt City have skillfully depicted it, Sajjadi said.

Earthenware was used as canvas for painters in ancient times.

Fish and goat motifs are common in the ancient artifacts discovered at the ruins of the Burnt City.

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