For the first decade, much of the planning was not made public; Iran's own Iranian Cultural Heritage Organization (ICHO) was not aware of total area of flooding until 2003.
However, Iranian officials from the Ministry of Energy and ICHO did acknowledge that the lake will flood 130 Persian archeological sites and invited international teams to help excavate the area before construction commenced.
[citation needed] The archaeologists uncovered a narrow 9-mile dirt road believed to be the Royal Passage of the Achaemenids, connecting the two ancient cities, that was in use until the 18th century.
[2] Although no preliminary environmental research has been carried out to assess the effects of humidity upon the constructions at Pasargadae, the Ministry of Energy believes it could be compensated by controlling the water level of the dam reservoir.
The higher groundwater levels and increased humidity were said to be directly affecting foundation failures and the forming of newer cracks in walls and platforms throughout the ruins.