امیرصادق نقشینه

Silakhor plain in the north of Lorestan is one of the important areas of Central Zagros, which has many settlements related to the chalcolithic age. Investigations and studies conducted in this plain have so far shown 80 ancient sites related to the chalcolithic age. The data of this research was taken from the survey and identification that took place in 2005 in the Silakhor plain, as well as re-examination and supplementary survey of the authors from this. In this research, 51 representative pottery samples from the chalcolithic age pottery in the area of this site have been studied typologically. In this research an attempt has been made to answer the question that how the typological comparison of chalcolithic age pottery of Silakhor plain can be effective in regulating the chronology of the region. The typology and comparisons made in relation to the pottery of this period in the Silakhor plain show that the common pottery cultures of the chalcolithic age in this area are affected by the developments in the northern regions of Garin-Kouh and Sefid-Kouh (Kangavar Vally). Therefore, the chronology of Kangavar Vally in the chalcolithic can be extended to the Silakhor plain as well as on other hand, the typology of pottery types in this research can be effective in understanding the cultures late chalcolithic period and in the Bronze Age. The typological similarities of the chalcolithic pottery of the Silakhor plain with the pottery of the Godin III period show the chalcolithic and, consequently, the Bronze Age. After studies conducted on the collected pottery, 51 pottery samples, which were more representative, were separated and studied further. In this regard, we have tried to present at least one example of each pottery sample in this article. The collected samples represent that early, middle and late periods of the chalcolithic age in the Silakhor plain.

Environmental factors have played a decisive and important role in the formation and spatial distribution of human settlements during the prehistoric era. The study of the human-environment interactions is one of the main approaches in modern archeology. The Halilrood cultural basin is one of the geographical areas with three different climates of "cold mountainous and temperate", "warm" and "hot and dry", and this climatic multiplicity led to specific patterns in the location and development of permanent and temporary settlements. Prehistoric archaeological studies in this area have focused more on Bronze Age settlements; While chalcolithic settlements have received less attention. Meanwhile, the study of settlements of the chalcolithic Age plays an important role in understanding pre-historic cultures before entering the Bronze Age in the cultural basin of Halilrood. The main question is, what is the role of environmental factors on the spatial distribution of chalcolithic settlements in the northern part of the Halilrood basin? The research method is descriptive-analytical, and the research has been done based on archaeological studies and environmental factors such as altitude, direction, and gradient of the land slope, water resources, and geological features. These data were analyzed by GIS associated with 47 chalcolithic settlements. Results show that the altitude, elevation, and access to water resources have the most role in the location and formation of the settlements. Finally, it can state that there has been a good interaction between the environment and human cultures in the northern part of the cultural basin of Halilrood during the prehistoric era.

The Chalcolithic Age is one of the most important prehistoric periods in Iran. The transformations of this period in the Central Zagros have emerged in continuation of the Neolithic period.  One of the important areas of Central Zagros, which had many settlements related to the Chalcolithic era, is Silakhor plain in the north of Lorestan. Despite the cultural richness of the Silakhor plain during the Chalcolithic Age, no purposeful study has been conducted to clarify the Chalcolithic status of this area. In this regard, in order to clarify the settlement models of the Chalcolithic era of Silakhor plain, this study is presented, which is a summary of Ahmad Parviz’s archaeological studies and purposeful studies by the researchers, In the present study, the authors have tried to find the answer to the following questions: What were the settlement models of Silakhor plain in the Chalcolithic era? How can the changes of settlement models in the old, middle and new periods of the Chalcolithic era of Silakhor plain be analyzed? It seems that several factors including water resources, altitude of Silakhor plain and state’s roads have been effective in the formation of settlements in this area during the Chalcolithic age. Studies conducted in this plain so far have shown 80 ancient sites related to the Copper Stone Age. Some of these sites involve all three periods of old, middle and new Chalcolithic era. The spatial data collected in this research have been studied by GIS science studies method and implemented in ArcGIS 10.3 software. The basis of these studies is the distance of each settlement area from the nearest river and its altitude level from Silakhor plain. These maps have been implemented in all three periods of old, middle and new Chalcolithic Age of Silakhor plain. 

Environmental factors, have played a decisive role in shaping and spatial distribution of human settlements. The study of human-environment interactions is one of the major approaches in modern archeology. Understanding human-environment relationships become more important in studying multiple geographic areas.  Halil river cultural area is also one of the geographical areas with three climates of "mountainous and temperate", "warm" and "warm and dry and this climatic multiplicity has led to specific patterns in the location and development of permanent and temporary settlements. This is while, Prehistoric archaeological studies in this area, are more focused on the Bronze Age settlements and the contribution of copper and stone settlements to such studies is very small. Accordingly, the study of the role of environmental factors in the spatial distribution, viability, and shaping of settlements of the Copper and Stone Age plays an important role in understanding pre-historic cultures before entering the Bronze Age. Because some of the backgrounds of the formation of the Bronze Age cultures can be traced back to the Copper-Stone age. The main question is, what is the impact and role of environmental factors on the spatial distribution of copper and rock settlements in the southern part of Halil river basin? The research method is descriptive-analytical and is based on data from archaeological studies. Environmental factors such as altitude, direction and extent of land slope, water resources, land structure and land use associated with 69 copper-rock deployments were analyzed using GIS. Based on the results, elevation and access to water resources have the most role in the location and shape of the settlements. Accordingly, the role of environmental factors in the tradition of migration and intra-regional relocation is also important, and the study of settlement distribution based on copper- rock chronology indicates an increase in population in this area.

Data collection and recording of Archaeological sites in Archaeological research is costly and requires a lot of manpower and time. Accordingly, the use of methods that can predict the presence of ancient monuments without direct observation will play a significant role in saving time and cost of Archaeological surveys. The main issue of this research is to assess the ability of the logistic regression model to predict the dispersal of ancient sites in the Harsin-Bisotun plain. Predictor variables for this study include the environmental variables of slope, height, distance to river, vegetation, distance to modern cities, density of modern villages and distance to main roads, and dependent variable  is the most turbulent  of area in terms of existence prehistoric Archaeological sites. For modeling, using logistic regression, GIS and IDRISI softwares was used. By analyzing the results of the logistic regression model, results showed that, the logistic regression model was successful in prediction the dispersion of ancient sites in the Harsin-Bisotun plain. As well, the introduction of densly populated areas due to the presence of ancient sites  as a modle-dependent variable in the plain-bound areas is more important than the mere introduction of GPS points of the ancient sites as a dependent variable. and, Accordingly, the cultural variability of village density in the Calcolithic Age, village density, distance to cites and the distance to main roads in the Bronze Age and distance to cites, distance to main roads in Iron Age have had the greatest impact in prediction the dispersion of ancient sites.

The Achaemenid architecture is famous for its columned halls; however such halls were common prior to the Achaemenid Period in Iran. Buildings with columned halls dated to Median Period were discovered in Nush-i Jan and Godin. Similar buildings were also present in Baba Jan, Ziwiye, Hasanlu, Kordlar and Bastam as well. Among these buildings, the oldest example of columned hall belongs to Hasanlu, where seven buildings including columned hall were constructed in three successive periods of Hasanlu V, IVc and IVb, dated to ca. 1250-800 B.C. The main common characteristic of these buildings is their central part, which was constructed in form of a columned hall, along with other common components and elements, such as: a portico and an anteroom in entrance, a stairway passed around a central column on a side of the anteroom, ancillary rooms situated along the sides of the hall, benches constructed on sides of the hall, columns added at the sides of the hall, raised hearth in the center of the hall, and a platform opposite the entrance of the hall. Use of these common characteristics in Hasanlu continued for about four centuries and led to formation of a particular architectural tradition. In regards to the origin and the prototype of this architectural style, as well as its continuity and subsequent changes until the Achaemenid Period, different notions were brought up. Some scholars have sought the origin of this style out of the Iranian plateau. Others have considered it as a linear or multilinear evolution. Most of these opinions are based on the basis of the theory of diffusion. The present essay brings up a different opinion about the formation of this architectural style in Hasanlu. On the basis of this view, the construction of columned halls can be taken as an internal innovation in indigenous architecture of Hasanlu, considering their common features with other contemporary buildings without a columned hall in Hasanlu.Abstract

Many books have been written about field archaeology universally, but the number of books published on this subject in Iran is rare. One of the books published on this area in Iran, is "Field Archaeology: An Introduction" by Peter L. Drewett which has been translated into Persian by Hojjat Darabi. The book has been published in the field of archeology as an academic textbook for the course of "Methods of Archaeological Excavation and Survey", but does not cover all the topics discussed in this course. One of the strong points of the book is that various discussions on the archaeological excavation are briefly presented in a rational and understandable order. In addition, the Persian translation is fluent, although a careful edition may even improve its quality. The main weak points of the book are the lack of attention to the archaeological survey, a close link with the archaeological issues of Iran and the Middle East, and the lack of necessary parts such as introducing sources for further study. Also, a summary and conclusion at the end of each topic could help the reader. In all, the book can be used as a guide for archaeological excavation, but suffers as a textbook from some deficiencies.

One of the large mounds in the east of Zanjan Province, in northwestern Iran, is Qaleh Tepe. This mound is located on the vicinity of the modern city of Abhar and, due to urban development associated with construction of the city, has been severely damaged so that only a small fragment from its central area has remained. Qaleh Tepe is situated on a natural low-rise hill on the south bank of Abhar Roud River, the most important river in region. This river flows along the length of an elongated plain, which as a natural corridor forms a route to connect the Northwest to the North Central Plateau of Iran. Because of its geographic location and circumstance, Qale Tepe constitutes an important site investigating the cultural relationship between given regions. Three seasons of excavation have carried out at the site: in 1993 directed by Dr. A. Mirfatah, in 2001 directed by M. Askariyan, and in 2011 directed by this author. In these excavations, remains from Bronze Age, Iron Age, Parthian Period, and Islamic Period were uncovered. The last of these excavations revealed that the first occupation in Qaleh Tepe is related to an Early Bronze Age settlement; some remains from this settlement, including architecture, ceramic and small finds, were found in a 3×4 meters trench, in the northeast of the mound. Due to destruction and the disappearance of upper stratums in the trench, only one phase of the settlement was uncovered upon virgin soil; however, it seems the occupation had been short-term. The architectural remains showing a rectangular room with pies (Chineh) walls and connected clay benches and a floor, which all were frequently plastered with clay. There are traces of black painting on the surface of the walls, the benches, and the floor. The distinctive ceramic related to the settlement is characterized by a grit temper, a surface color that ranges from dark red to gray-black, with gray common, usually burnished, and hand-made. Most of the shreds are simple without any decoration, but some samples have simple geomorphic incised or excised patterns, which in a few cases are filled with a white paste. The most common pattern is an incised zigzag line under the rim or on the shoulder of vessels. These characteristic are well known from the Early Trans-Caucasian Culture II settlements in Iran, as found in Godin Tepe in period IV and lower levels. Early Bronze Age of Yanik Tepe. The small finds are miscellaneous, including three bone awls, one sickle-like bone object, one partway broken bone spindle whorl with incised patterns, one antler haft, four stone beads, two quadruped figurines and one broken bird-like head from fired clay, two unknown fired clay objects in the shape of a trefoil star, and some stone tools. These findings have parallels in other ETC settlements in Iran, but similarities with those settlements located in the Central Zagros and the North Central Plateau are stronger than in the Northwest. On the basis of these similarities, the Early Bronze Age settlement in Qaleh Tepe is pertains to the ETC IIA and therefore can be dated to the first half of the 3rd millennium B.C. On the other hand, the situation of Qaleh Tepe in the eastern part of the natural corridor connecting the Northwest to the North Central Plateau reveals the route of extension of the Early Trans-Caucasian Culture to the East, as well as to the eastern Zagros.

Arsacid Empire is one of the least known periods in the history of Iran which، until recently، was called the “dark middle age of ancient Iran civilization”. In Iranian culture and tradition، this period is usually ignored and left unexplored. For years، identification and investigation of Arsacid culture and art were done just based on the excavations carried out in Mesopotamia and Syria، especially in Palmira and Dura Europos. In Iran، the important sites excavated only include Susa (50 km south Andimeshk and 114 km north of Ahwaz)، Khajeh Mountain (in Sistan)، Khorheh (in Markazi province)، Qale’ Yazdgird (in western Iran، close to Qasre Shirin)، Tepe NushiJan (60 km south Hamedan)، Qale’ Zahak (16 km southeast Sareskan city)، Taq-i Bustan cemetery (in Kermanshah)، Parthian domain of Bisotun (in Harsin city) and Laodicea Temple (in Nahavand). One of the most valuable Arsacid cultural materials is pottery، a difficult، unknown yet important issue studying which is a must. An essential، prominent aspect of Arsacid pottery is that the works of pottery were not identical throughout Arsacid territory. In this period، in every region of Iran، there were works of pottery which were unique to that region and differed from the potteries of neighboring regions. Sang-e Shir area، now known as Sang-e Shir square، is placed at the east of Hamedan city. Today، a very small part of this site has turned into the square and the rest is buried under residential houses. To the northeast of this area، there is a vast cemetery on a natural hill; stone lion statue is located on the highest point to the southwest. This cemetery was visited by Ali Akbar Sarfaraz in 1966، and later، in 1974-75 by Masoud Azarnoush as a result of which Achaemenid، Seleucid?، Parthian and Islamic graves were excavated. As a result of the excavations، four different types of burial were identified including burial in clay coffins، burial in clay pithos، burial without coffin (corpse in a flexed position)، and burial without coffin (corpse in a extended position). In his 1975 report، Azarnoush divided these burials into three categories: burials flexed is considered as belonging to 4th century BC because of a coin from Caria found; he claims that this coin can possibly be dated back to Hecatomnus، the king who was appointed by Artaxerxes II as the head of Iranian Army that were to fight Evagoras، the rebelling king of Salamis. Burials with or without coffins along northeast-southwest axis in which the head is in the southwest are considered، doubtfully، to belong to Seleucid? period based on comparative studies on excavations in Egypt and Mesopotamia. Burials with or without coffin along northeast-southwest axis in a which the head is in the northeast، are regarded as belonging to the late first half and early second half of 2td century BC based on the coins found in these burials that belong to Mithradates I، Phraates II and Gutarzes II. In this article، the Parthian potteries found in this cemetery were the subject of study، typological analysis، comparison and contrast، which led to the identification of Common، Clinky and Glazed pottery categories. Comparative study investigation indicated that these potteries are similar to the Parthian potteries of central Mesopotamia (Seleucia)، west (Kangavar، Bisotun، Tepe Nush-IJan، Khorheh، Ti-Haleh site in Khorramabad Valley)، southwest (Tepe Darougeh، level III of Chaour palace-Susa، eastern Apadana-Susa، level VI of Ville Royale in Susa، Masjid Soleiman)، and northwest (the site of Germi in Moghan plain) of Iran. Based on the analysis، the pottery set found in Sang-e Shir Cemetery of Hamedan can be dated to the early and middle Parthian period.

Huto cave is situated on the east of modern city of Behshahr in Mazandaran province in northern Iran. This cave and Kamarband (Belt) cave are located in a cliff on the northern slope of the Alborz Mountains close to the southeastern beach of Caspian Sea. An expedition mission from the University of Pennsylvania directed by Carleton Stevens Coon discovered and excavated these in 1949 and 1951. The aim was discovery the Paleolithic remains، but meanwhile Paleolithic excavation some material cultures from other periods were found as well. In Huto cave four tranches (A، B، C، and D) were excavated. As the result of the excavation، more than 13 meters of deposits were revealed، from which 22 samples for C 14 analysis determination dates were obtained. Coon arranged the results of this analysis into 8 groups or periods، dated back to the Mesolithic (or Epi Paleolithic) through Islamic Period. Among these periods، Iron Age with 12 samples was dated spanning between 1000 to 735 B. C. Iron Age materials in this cave reposed on the forth soil change in 4. 6 meters depth. The most significant finding from Iron Age in Huto cave was ceramic shards; part of which are preserved in Ceramic Department of National Museum of Iran. Aiming to do archaeological investigations، these shards have classified to 4 apart types: 1) Red Ware، 2) Gray Ware، 3) Gray Cooking ware، and 4) Brown Ware; this article will discuss the petrographic analysis of these types. Petrographic investigation is based on analysis of composition and other structural characteristics of the ceramics to distinguish the temper type of ceramics regarding their physical and chemical attribute، regional or trans-regional source of clay، temperature of baking kiln، and some of possible technical effects of potters. Overall، 98 shards from these 4 types were used to make thin sections; 45 samples from red ware، 7 samples from gray ware، 29 samples from gray cooking ware، and 10 samples from brown ware. The number of samples from each type was depends on its quantity، as red ware with 45 samples is the most numerous type and gray ware with 7 samples is the thinnest type. This research reveals some differences in combination and kind of temper. In gray cooking ware، a considerable quantity of calcite and shell were used as temper. Both of these materials are calcareous، a characteristic that probably the potter was aware of its practical benefit in production cooking ware. Silica is the typical temper in the red and gray wares، although little particles of mica and Feldspar are found in paste of the brown ware. It seems that the temperature of baking kiln was varied in different types، and probably different kilns were used to bake the different types، as the gray cooking ware was baked in 750 - 800o C، the red ware in lower than 900o C، the gray ware in about 900o C، and the brown ware in 950 – 1000o C. The brown ware has most variance compare to other types، regarding to quality and high temperature of baking، fine paste، and tiny temper; because of these attributes، it could have an origin out of the region. But، this idea needs additional investigations about the source of used clay in different ceramic types via more extensive research. This research could be an introduction to petrographic comparative investigations about Iron Age Pottery of the region.

Abhar Roud Baisn which is placed in the east of Zanjan precinct is not exactly recognized. This precinct is across the most important natural road which connects North West to central north. Qaleh Tape is one of the significant archeological sites which are placed in the south of this river. In recent years most of this Tape is destroyed. As a result of archeological investigation in this precinct many traces related to different period were found. One of the most important traces were regarding to clays related to Iron Age. This evidence show that people related to Iron Age period lived in this Tape. Finding clays named Poly Chrome which belongs to Bronze period showed that there was a connection between Qaleh Tape and eastern area and Qazvin in this period. Finding gray clays concerned with Iron Age in this precinct demonstrated that this place was used as a place for living from new Bronze period to Iron Age. Finding some intact clay belong to Iron Age I and a Poly Chrome container related to new Bronze Age showed that at the end of the Bronze period and at the beginning of the Iron Age this Tape was used as a cemetery. Finally, based on the other finding of this Tape related to new Bronze Age and Iron Age we can come to a conclusion regarding to cultural relations of Abhar Roud precinct people with adjacent area. Probably, Latrine Abhar precinct was the best connection way from central north to west and west north.

Cups and goblets are two groups of Iron Age pottery in Iran. There are many parallels in shape and usage between the two, thus they can be fixed in a single group. The important difference between them is their height, so that the cups are usually shorter than the goblets. These wares are indicator of Iron Age I and II, and often found in the cemeteries of this age. Their geographical distribution is vast, and they observed in northwest, north and south slope of Alborz Mountains, central plateau and central Zagros. A total of 344 samples of these cups and goblets have been excavated and published from Iron Age sites in these regions. This research aims to propose a new typology for the wares and to study their geographical distribution. The main criterion in this typology is the shape of the ware. For this purpose, the complete shape of the ware is divided in four sections, and based on variation and combination of the four sections, some types are defined. Geographical distribution of the types in the different regions is not uniform and harmonious, rather some types are found in all regions and some others are common in some regions. This situation can indicate presence of local tendency in production of the ware.

The first season of excavation at Ali Yourd Tepe was achieved by the department of Archaeology of the Islamic Azad University of Abhar in summer and autumn 2010. This mound is located in west of Saien Galeh city in Zanjan province and is one of the biggest and most important mound in the Abhar Rud area. Aims of this excavation are Training of students and investigations at cultural sequence at Abhar Rud area. Therefore a stepped tranch in north slope and a test tranch in center of the mound were excavated and about one half of the height of the mound was studied stratigraphically. As the result of this excavation some remuins of Islamic historic and bronze periods were found which are presented in this preliminary report. I hope to complete this stratigraphical investigation in second season of excavation at Ali Yourd Tepe.

In the Northeastern Tehran and the Lavizan zone, there is an Imam-Zadeh, under the title of "Imam-Zadeh Panjtan". This Imam-Zadeh is located on a hill. And slopes of the hill are used as a cemetery. In a visit in 1993, some sherds were collected on the hills that were probably uncovered by forming new graves. The sherds have characterized in northern Tehran. It seems the hill was used as a cemetery also in Iron Age, and can be considered as one of the several Iron Age cemeteries in foot hills of northern Tehran. 

Pileh Qaleh is a settlement site in Roudbar region of Gilan Province and it is located in 500 meters from the well-known Marlik cemetery. Nearly 50 years ago, the site was extensively excavated by Dr. Negahban. Based on limited published information, this site has remains from Iron Age, Historical and Islamic periods. But the findings from this excavation have not been published yet. A part of these findings is a pottery collection from trench M that is being maintained in National Museum of Iran. In this article, the Iron Age pottery from this trench is introduced and studied. The pottery belongs to the Iron Age I, of Roudbar region, and has many parallel indicator types with important sites such as Marlik, Ghalekuti, Lamehzamin and Lasulkan. 

One of kinds Iron Age Pottery in Western Iran is the glazed ware. This ware, that forms a few percentage of Iron Age pottery, is only seen in Iron Age III and II, and usually recognized as an imported ware from Assyria, to Western Iran. The most common from is this ware is the small glazed vessel, that will be classified, and its geographical distribution in Western Iran will be studied in this article.

In the excavations which were taken place in "Hotu cave", near Behshahr, more than fifty years age, in addition to findings of Stone Age, remains of more recently eras and particularly Iron Age were obtained. But since this cave was searched aiming to study Stone Age and to attain to the remains of this era, not much attention was paid to the findings of Iron Age and these materials were recorded in the national museum of Iran. This situation is prevailed whereas our information about Iron Age in North East Iran is very restricted and every kind of data in this field can be very valuable.  This article discusses about the quality of recognition and excavation of Hotu cave and its stratigraphy and Chronology with attention to Iron Age layers and emphasize on the necessity of study, classification and introduction of Iron Age pottery in this cave.

One of the Typical wares in Iron Age in Iran, is the Spouted vessel. These Vessels, however, are very similar as far as general shape is concerned, and are classified in one group, although there is diversity in details of their shape. Therefore one can classify them on the basis of the form of their different components. In this research, 155 Spouted vessels, that represented in archaeological reports, are studied and classified: The classification is made on the basis of similarity among different samples, and thus 11 classes or types are distinguished. The special distribution of these types demonstrates a distinguishable and particular relationship between different types and regions. On the other hand, the study of the temporal distribution of these types is not precisely possible, because the dating for most of the samples are not precise. Despite, there are not any distinguishable relationship between the types and the different phases of the Iron Age. Therefore, I conclude, that the variation of the shape in the Spouted vessels depend mostly on their spacial distribution, and not on their temporal distribution.