دکتر محمدحسین عزیزی خرانقی

Throughout the history, one of the concerns of human beings has been death. The death and the rituals associated with it have created enduring traditions in human societies, with each having its own unique rite based on prevailing cultural and historical characteristics. One of the important traditions related to death is burial practices with varying rituals. Different faiths and religions recommend different commands and traditions for the disposal of a deceased body, with one being burial in the ground. Burial methods, too, differ in different religions, and throughout history, various methods of burial have been performed based on the prevalent rituals and religions of the time. In Zoroastrian, due to the reverence of the four elements (water, earth, fire, and air), any direct contact with a human corpse, which is considered impure, is forbidden. Followers of the Zoroastrian faith have adopted various methods for burying their deceased, including placing them in astōdān (ossuary), towers of silence, and constructing large stone graves (dakhmas/ cairn burials). This paper introduces the cairn burials (khereft-khaneh) and an astōdān (sotōdān) that were found during the archaeological survey of Harat district of Yazd province in 2021. In the archaeological survey of Harat, various cultural and historical sites from different periods were identified. Most of the identified sites in this survey belonged to the Islamic era, but some are referred to historical period, such as cairn burials and an astōdān (ossuary), which will be discussed in this study. Based on comparative studies and similar burial methods found in central Iran, Fars, and Kerman, these sites are dated back to the historical period (Parthian/Sasanian).

The northeastern region of Iran, characterized by a diverse and expansive landscape, has been a significant area for cultural and commercial exchanges throughout history. The geographical features, including parallel mountain ranges, natural valleys, and basins, have facilitated interactions between the peripheral desert plains, the eastern Alborz Mountain, and the Iranian Plateau with Central Asian regions. The Tepe Pahlavan, located in the northern-southern valley of Jajarm in North Khorasan Province, serves as a valuable example for studying inter-regional cultural trends during the Late Neolithic and Transitional Chalcolithic periods. The present research used a descriptive-analytical methodology to investigate the pottery assemblage retrieved from Tepe Pahlavan in Northeastern Iran during the Neolithic and Transitional Chalcolithic periods. The study aims to classify and analyze the pottery within both the local and regional contexts to comprehend the pottery traditions prevalent during the aforementioned periods. The pottery assemblage of the site indicates its association with the Eastern Sange Chakhmaq and other Neolithic sites from the Shahrud Plain. Furthermore, the presence of the cultural tradition of Cheshmeh-Ali in the settlement sequence of sites during the Transitional Chalcolithic period demonstrates regional and inter-regional cultural interactions. The pottery of this period at Tepe Pahlavan shares common technical features with the pottery assemblages of the Central Iranian Plateau and exhibits less diversity in form and decoration. In summary, the Pahlavan site reflects regional cultural interactions during the Neolithic period and inter-regional interactions during the early phase of the Transitional Chalcolithic period in northeastern Iran with the Central Plateau and the northern regions of the Kopet Dag.

The arid desert climate of Yazd province, with its endless flowing sand dunes, has led to the creation of special conditions for human settlements in this part of Iran. Throughout history, the lack of water, the dry land and air, the scorching sun, and especially the movement of flowing sands in the Yazd-Ardakan plain, have been constant threats for the cities and villages in this region. Esfanjerd, extending over ca. 85 hectares, is located in the northern part of the township of Majumerd, Ashkazar district, in the province of Yazd. According to the cultural materials collected from the surface and historical comparative studies the site appears to have been buried under the sands dunes during early Safavid period. Based on the surface material and comparative studies, the 5th to the 9th century AH (Seljuk to early Safavid dynasty) is the suggested chronology for the site. Esfanjerd is located next to the main route from the south to north of Iran, i.e., from Fars to Khorasan via Esfahan, and according to the historical documents, due to the existence of numerous qanats and a strategic location, it was an important region. Old aerial photographs, the scattering of cultural materials on the surface, and the remains of the mudbrick architecture at the site indicate the presence of a very rich settlement from the Seljuk dynasty, in this area. The residential spaces and the walls of the surrounding gardens demonstrate the prosperity of life in this area.

Urban expansion in recent decades, especially in the peripheral areas of Tehran and Karaj, has led to the expansion of areas that were villages surrounded by gardens on the outskirts of Karaj before the revolution. Mardabad/Mahdasht, which became a city in the not-so-distant past (1991), has expanded rapidly and the gardens and historical monuments around it, like many other cities in Alborz province, have been destroyed or exposed to destruction. Tepe Mardabad is located in Mahdasht town, eleven kilometers southwest of Karaj in Alborz province. The site has been registered as number 2252 in the list of national monuments of Iran in 1998. Mardabad is located in the northwestern of Mahdasht town, exactly on the border of residential houses and agricultural lands, residential constructions in recent years have severely threatened, destroyed and encroached the southern and to some extent eastern parts of the site. In spring of 2016 archaeological excavation curried out in the site to recognized core and buffer zone. Tepe Mardabad is one of the highest ancient mound in Alborz province, there are evidences of the cultural sequence from the 6th millennium BC to the Middle Islamic era in this area. certainly, conducting scientific and more extensive excavtions in this site will lead to obtaining much more accurate archaeological information. However, according to surface pottery evidence, the site has a long chronological sequence: Late Neolithic period (Sialk I / 6th millennium BC), Transitional Chalcolithic / Cheshmeh Ali (Sialk II / late 6th / early of the fifth millennium BC), Iron Age I (the end of the second millennium BC), the historical period and the Islamic era.

Rahmatbad is an important perhistoric site which located in Dasht-e Kamin in Pasargadae district, close to the Pulvar river basin in Fars province. Based on absolute C-14 dating, Rahmat-Abad is dated to the middle of the 8th millennium BC. This site is well known as one of the key perhistoric sites with a cultural sequence from pre pottery neolithic to Islamic era. 10 pieces of pottery sherds from the Neolithic period (formative Mushki and Mushki) and 5 pieces of pottery sherds from the Chalcolithic (early Middle Bakun) of Rahmatabad were investigated using petrography, XRD and XRF methods in order to compare the chemical compositions and the manufacturing progresses in pottery making during the Neolithic to Chalcolithic period. Chemical and mineralogical studies on the investigated potteries from different sequences of this site indicate a precise classification of using the same raw materials but through different techniques during the Neolithic to Chalcolithic period in Rahmat-Abad. Furthermore, the progress and development of the pottery manufacturing technique used in Rahmat-Abad might have been introduced as an important site in pioneering the pottery progressing during the Neolithic to early Middle Bakun period in Pulvar River Basin.

Archaeological studies on the northern coasts of the Persian Gulf are in the early stages. Although such studies have been started in this area for decades, long interruptions have led to a lack of reliable results. This issue is more acute in the prehistoric period. Limited research results publication has also increased this problem. Although archeological surveys have been done well in Bushehr province, unfortunately, the results of those studies have not been published well. Studying on the northern coasts of the Persian Gulf is not just a research topic today; it is a research duty. Archaeological studies conducted in this region have shown that at least from seven thousand years ago, people who live on the land of Iran have been settled on the northern coasts of the Persian Gulf and had the opportunity to use the sea; although in the early periods this settlement was seasonal; but according to the new evidence of mud-brick architecture at Toll-e Suzo, villages and then permanent cities have been created in this region since the fourth millennium BC, and in the historical and Islamic period, these areas have been completely inhibited. In addition to the food supply, the sea has been playing an important role in trade relations since the Fifth/ fourth millennium BC, which should be considered in archaeological studies of the region. Toll-e Suzo, which is located in Genaveh district, Bushehr Province, is one of the prehistoric sites of the region, which, according to the cultural evidence identified from the excavation in the stratigraphic trench, has been settled from the middle of the fifth millennium to the end of the fourth millennium BC. The inhabitants of this area have been in contact with the interior of the Fars cultural region and southwestern Iran and have also access to marine resources.

A joint program by the University of Tehran and the University of Leicester carried out a first season of archaeological exploration of Zoroastrian societies in Maybod, Yazd province during May 2016 for two weeks. Historical archaeology is still in its infancy in Iran. Due to extensive modernization vast amounts of data have been lost and therefore most research into the recent past can be considered as salvage program.  The aim of this research is to explore some aspects of the social history and ritual activities of the last communities of Zoroastrian societies of Yazd province based on the analysis of architectural layout, archaeological survey of the contemporary villages, interview, and historical records. Here we represent the preliminary report of the survey results of Mazra’e Kalantar and Asr’ Abad villages. In this paper we have clarified the architectural patterns and the typology of buildings of Zoroastrian communities. We have analyzed two different buildings types of religious and domestic spaces of Mazra’e Kalantar and Asr’ Abad villages. The second part of this paper is focused on the ethnographic results in order to achieve a holistic understanding of life experience based on the historical knowledge of local people.

Many years have passed from the first excavations on the northern coasts of Persian Gulf, and according to the conducted studies in this regard, major problems still exist in the chronology and identifying settlement periods. Besides, there is no clear description about the social, economic, political or religious life of prehistoric societies. Most of the archeological studies in this region were focused on the historical and Islamic cultural periods. Few prehistoric sites have been identified and studied in the Boushehr province and in general, the northern coast of the Persian Gulf archaeologically; in this regard, most of researches is related to the Elamite period and after that, the historical and Islamic periods. The area of Chahar Rustai located in the Genaveh county is one of the few prehistoric sites were identified and studied in this region. The first season of archeological excavations in this site was conducted in the June of 2013 to determine the stratigraphy and delimiting and its results shows that the site of Chahar Roustaei is a seasonal and temporary settlement dating back to the fifth millennium BC, so is compared with the middle Bakun culture in this part of the northern coast of the Persian Gulf. The site is located on 2 km northwest of the village with the same name, beside the tomb of Imamzadeh Amir-Almomenin, on the district of Hayat Davood, Gonaveh County. The geographical coordinates of the area are N. 29° 33’ 12.3” and E. 50° 45’ 44.5” and it covers an area of seven hectares. The site is precisely is located on the ridges of very hard and dense sands. The mean sea level on its highest point reaches to 30 meters, the majority of the site is leveled by farmers and is utilized as farm lands. The southern part of the site is covered by trees, locally known as Kur, recently planted by the ministry of Agriculture of Iran. The local access to dirt road exactly passes through the middle of the site and another road passes from its northern side and the mentioned tomb is on the right. According to the conducted excavations on this site as well as the distribution of pottery on its surface, Chahar Rustai is a seasonal and temporary settlement during the fifth millennium BC and probably is belonged to people immigrated from the cultural sphere of Fars to this region. Also, Chahar Rustai was excavated in order to obtain a more precise understanding about the prehistoric cultures existed on the northern coast of the Persian Gulf. Discovering the painted buff ware and comparing them with the ceramics of Tall-e Gap, Tall-e Bakun, Tol-e Bashi in the Kur river basin, Tall-e Nokhodi, Tall-e Rahman in the sivand river basin, Tall-e Nurabad in the Nurabad zone, Tall-e Mehr-ali in Iqlid and Tall-e Mashkarim in the district of Semirom show that Chahar-Rustai is one of the southern settlements of the culture which had been influenced by the dominating Bakun culture during the fifth millennium B.C.. Their ceramics clearly indicate that Chahar-Rustai settled during the middle Bakun period or the Gap period which can be dated between 4800 to 4500 B.C. During this excavation and throughout the detailed survey on their surrounding, no ceramic related to the more ancient or more recent period than middle Bakun was recovered. Given the its general characteristics and the distribution of ceramics, Chahar-Rustai site can be considered as a site settled by the nomads who were seasonal habitant of the area during the fifth millennium B.C. Furthermore, the marine products which were also discovered in other Bakun sites can definitely show a wide range of interactions among the coastal settlements including Chahar Rustai. Obviously, for gaining more accurate understanding about the prehistoric settlements and specially Bakun period, more comprehensive studies and surveys are required.

Fars province as the origin of the Achaemenid Empire has a great number of monuments of this cultural period. Recent studies on the Pasargadae area and Bolaqi valley led to discovery of new sites of this period such as Dokhtar- Bor (the road has been dug in to the Bolaqi valley rocks which is attributed to the Achaemenid period), a small palace and the mud brick structures at the top of Tepe Rahmat Abad. Rahmat Abad is a small tell site (Half an hectare) in front of southern gorge of the Bolaqi valley. The site was excavated in 2005 and 2009. This site has a cultural deposit of Neolithic period (including two different phases: Pre-Pottery Neolithic Phase (RahmatAbad Phase) and Pottery Neolithic Phase (Formative Mushki and Mushki Phase), Middle Bakun period, Achaemenid period and Late Islamic (Qajar) period. In the 2009 season a mud brick structure with a semicircle plan was identified just at the top of the site which belongs to the Achaemenid period. The function of this structure is reasonable in connection with the royal road between Pasargadae and Persepolis. The absolute dating on one charcoal piece provided the date belonging to the beginning of the Achaemenid Empire.