1300-year-old letter written to a sister shows the timeless nature of family bonds

Strong family bonds are not exclusive to modern times; they have existed throughout human history, as this ancient letter proves. Hastijan's cave in Iran's central province of Delijan was once filled with treasures from the late Sasanian era. Though looted and taken abroad, authorities claim a letter was among the items taken. This item was why the researchers even knew that a cave like this existed, reported The Modern Met.

Mustafa Deh Pahlvan, head of the Research Institute of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, said, "The name of this cave was not mentioned in the archaeological map or in the archaeological reports until one of the Pahlavi language experts abroad noticed the leather writings that contained valuable information." He added, "After following up, he found out that many of these works had left the country, and after questioning, he found out that the origin of these parchments was a cave in Central Province." One of the documents taken from the cave is a private letter proving that people were literate during the Sasanian Empire. The letter is said to be written on parchment in Middle Persian, using Pahlavi script.

The letter when translated read: "Marwaid, dear sister, may the gods bless her. Good luck to my sister. I sent you a bottle of oil by Bakhtak. Write me a letter about your and Farrokhzad's health and comfort, and be at ease about me and my children. Send the oil soon," per KhabarOnline. Such letters show that sibling relationships have not changed much. There was still care and love for each other, even in ancient civilizations. The Sasanian Empire (224 CE to 651 CE) was ruled over Iraq and Iran. It ended with the early Muslim conquests of the 7th and 8th centuries. However, the private letter is part of the Pahlavi Archive at UC Berkley's Bancroft Library. It is part of the larger collection of letters, written during that era or the early Islamic period spread between Berkeley, Berlin and Los Angeles.

Finding a handwritten letter brings an inexplicable joy. Reddit user u/Commercial_You9068 shared a letter she found six months after her mother passed away. She said that her mom was battling cancer and was also elderly. The post read, “When I finally got around to moving some of her things to make the house more handicap accessible for my dad, this fell out of an old book I had never seen her open.” She shared her mom loved writing and this letter proved how talented she was. On the letter, there was a small doodle of something that looked like a cross and had dimensions and words like “Wind” and “Song.”

Her mom wrote the letter for her as she wanted the daughter to read it after her death. “Every time the wind blows, listen and you will hear my song. Y’all are the ‘wind beneath my wings’ forever,” the letter read. The mom used quite a bit of reference to wind and music to frame a poetic and touching message. “If you’re sad, hear me in the wind. Take comfort from the beautiful memories.” The mother also told her not to spend too much time grieving. “But do not grieve. That would make me sad. Get on with living! Soon, real soon, that’s important for me. Take care of dad and each other,” the letter concluded.