Photo by @simonnorfolkstudio / Photographed on my second assignment for National Geographic magazine, twelve years ago, Naqsh-e Rustam is the acropolis of the great Persian kings of the 5th and 4th century BCE, with the high tombs of Darius II, Ataxerxes I, and Xerxes I. The site is near the ruined city of Persepolis in western Iran. In the foreground is the mysterious Ka’be-ye Zartosht, which has been thought to be either a tomb, a sacred library, or possibly a chamber for the keeping of holy fire. Follow me @simonnorfolkstudio for updates, outtakes, unpublished, and archive material. #archaeology #iran #Persia #Persianempire #Achaemenidempire