Bushehr Province is in the south of the country, with a long coastline along the Persian Gulf. Its center is Bushehr, the provincial capital. The province has ten counties: Asaluyeh, Bushehr, Dashtestan, Dashti, Deyr, Deylam, Jam, Kangan, Ganaveh and Tangestan. A French excavating team in 1913 determined the origin of Bushehr to date back to the Elamite Empire. A city there, known as Lyan, contained a temple that was designed to protect the compound from naval attacks. Its remains can still be seen today 10 kilometers south of the present city of Bushehr.