The Analysis of Archaeological Evidence from the Fourth Floor (C) of Karafto Cave in Northwest of Iran

Karaftu ancient castle and cave are located in the northwest of Iran and in a mountainous region between Saqhez and Takab in Kurdistan province, Iran. For the first time, an English physician and surgeon in the early nineteenth century, John Cormick, visited the Cave. The famous English explorer Sir Robert Ker Porter also visited the cave using Cormick’s notes and made a map and a copy of the Greek inscription.  After him, various scholars of various nationalities, translated the Greek inscription, or reviewed the cave, and provided photographs and reports with details, but archaeological excavations were postponed in this place for nearly two centuries. In the summer of 1997, the first archaeological team, in collaboration with the Cultural Heritage Bureau of the Kurdistan province, excavated this cave, and then the exploration and organizing operations continued in three seasons. The study of site and the adjoining areas indicated the ritual use, and temporary residence of humans from prehistoric times to the present. This paper aimed to analyze the archaeological evidence obtained in the field study performed in 1997 from the C floor and especially the well in one of the rooms. The findings point to the ritual use of this well.