مجله مطالعات باستان شناسی
سال دوازدهم شماره 1 (پیاپی 21، بهار 1399)

According to the Zoroastrian religious teachings, and in order to prevent the contamination of the four sacred elements of water, soil, wind and fire, dead bodies should be put in an open area and on the top of mountains, should be consumed by carnivorous animals, and their bones should be buried in a specific place named Astodan (Ostekhandan). This method, which has been the most common burial tradition of Zoroastrians in the Islamic period, was carried out in the circular hypaethral structures built up on the top of mountains. These structures are called “Dakhma” and the mentioned ritual is called “Dakhmagozari.” Despite the research done on “Dakhmagozari” ritual and the “Zoroastrian Dakhma,” important questions about the historical background of this tradition and the history of the burial structures associated with it, and the evolution of the architectural features of the Zoroastrian Dakhma throughout the various historical periods still remain unanswered. So, the present research ties to answer these ambiguities by doing field studies and interpreting and analyzing the findings of these studies with a “historical approach.” According to the results obtained by referring to historical sources and archaeological evidence, the tradition of giving dead bodies to carnivorous animals, which has been a common burial tradition in Moqan since Achamenian periods, and using circular Dakhma, common throughout the Parthian-Sassanid period, have been popular among Iranian Zoroastrians. Following the mentioned trend during the Islamic period, the Dakhmagozari ritual and using circular Dakhmas have continued to exist up to the present time by going through changes in the way of performing the ceremonies and in the architectural components of the related burial structures.

Castle monuments are one of the settlement types whose location, formation and space distribution are strongly influenced by natural factors and communicational factors. The present study, using field and documentary data and using the Geographic Information System (GIS) and Hierarchical Analysis Process (AHP), seeks to investigate the correlation between natural factors and castle settlements in Ardabil province and ranking of natural factors influencing the spatial distribution of these settlements. Based on the data obtained from field and documentary studies, 100 castles from different prehistoric, historical and Islamic periods in the geographical area of Ardabil province, which constitute the materials and statistical population of this study, were identified and studied. To analyze the data, after compiling the database, the distribution of identified castle settlements in relation to the variables of distance from the river, land shape, elevation, slope, aspect, climate, Land use/ vegetation and soil type were studied and measured. The results of the research indicate that natural factors have played a significant role in spatial distribution, determining the type of function and the importance of castle settlements in Ardabil province. The correlation analysis between natural factors and spatial distribution of the province’s castle settlements shows that the land shape (plain and mountainous), the distance from the river and the elevation have had the greatest impact on the amount and pattern of castle distribution. Other variables, namely slope, aspect, climate, Land use/ vegetation and soil type, have also been important and effective in the spatial distribution of these castles, respectively.

According to the report of the Center for Marine Medical Studies affiliated to Bushehr University of Medical Sciences about the discovery of pottery fragments from the seafloor in the coastal waters of Bushehr Port, Department of Underwater Archeology, Iranian Center for Archaeological Research (ICAR) undertook to study and identify these cultural remains during August 2016. With the participation of professional divers, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences began scientific diving in the Persian Gulf. During the underwater archaeological survey, an area containing clay fragments in the seafloor was identified. The site is located 500 meters from the shores of Bushehr Port and at a depth of three to six meters. Underwater archeological studies of the coasts of Bushehr port in the Persian Gulf, cultural materials including Torpedo jars, small and large glazed crabs and fragments of pottery in the seafloor were identified. Among the cultural findings, a small number of Torpedo jars and more broken pieces of this pottery and several glazed potteries were collected. Torpedo jars and Turquoise glaze pottery are among the most prominent Sassanid pottery in the Persian Gulf that were shipped from Iranian ports to destination ports in the maritime trade. Determining the true nature of this historic site and its dating was one of the major impetus for underwater archaeological diving operations on these beaches, which led to the discovery of cargo from a historic ship from the Sassanid era. In this article, while explaining the underwater archaeology research program of Bushehr port, the discovered pottery of this study, including turquoise and glazed pottery as the most prominent Sassanid and early Islamic pottery in the Persian Gulf, will be discussed. The Sassanid position in the Persian Gulf maritime trade and the importance of trade in this historic period from Iranian ports to destination ports in the Indian subcontinent, the southern coasts of the Persian Gulf and East Africa are carefully considered.

Regarding the evolution of the production technique over a long period of prehistory, chipped stone assemblages provide many features that are recognizable and suitable for relative chronology, among which production techniques including hard/soft direct percussion, indirect percussion and pressure, especially in blade and bladelet production, are more reliable. This paper presents a research on blade and bladelet production techniques identified in the chipped stone assemblage of Komishan Cave in Mazandaran, a multi-period site presenting cultural material from Mesolithic, Neolithic and later periods including Chalcolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages. The lithic industry indicates the application of soft direct percussion and punch technique in blade and bladelet production in Mesolithic period, while in the Neolithic, pressure technique is presented in conical, bullet shaped and boat shaped cores and their products. Another evolution in the production technique of blades and bladelets occurred in later periods, detected through observation of traces of applying metal tips in punches and pressure tools, which obviously was impossible during Neolithic.

The Arg, situated in the northeast of Bam, is one of the historical complexes which perfectly portrays the landscape of a traditional Iranian town. Despite some research related to its layout, there are some questions related to the architectural elements; for instance, the structure, formation, and development of the first/ main entrance of the Arg. The following paper, which is an analytical history research, tries to shed light on these unsettled questions. The results show that the gateway has three layers. The first consists of two cubic towers and dates back to the Seleucid or early Parthian era. During the reign of Seljuk/ Atabakan of Kerman and probably Kutwali (fortress holder) “Sabiq al-Din Ali” (1163-1184 AD), besides adding a layer to the cubic body of towers, another architectural layer with two cylindrical towers was constructed beside them. The last phase of the annexations was conducted in the Ilkhanid/ Muzaffarids dynasty and most likely during the reign of Sultan Abu-Saeid Bahador’s agent, “Aji Shujauddin” (1316-1343 AD). During this phase, in addition to the cylindrical towers, a fort with a north-south axis was created and a “vestibule” was also annexed. Two relatively small cylindrical towers were also built alongside the new gateway. The new layer was renovated at least twice during the Timurid period.

Despite numerous archeological activities in the recent years in Kermanshah province, there has been little attention to the eastern parts of the province, including Sonqor and Koliaei. Appropriate geographical and environmental conditions, including the permanent rivers, the small and fertile midlands, and route of communication has provided suitable condition for habitation from a long time ago up to the present. Due to lack of information about the afore-mentioned region it was necessary to do a series of systematic studies based on regular and targeted excavations. Accordingly, the rescue studies of archaeological sites in Jamishan Dam Project could be the best opportunity for such purposes and could provide a good background for further studies. Faramarz is a late Chalcolithic site in the Jamishan Dam basin which was excavated with the goal of rescue studies. According to the preliminary results of excavation of the Faramarz site and comparing its pottery with the other contemporary archaeological sites, the site was occupied in a single phase, Godin VI3 period. According to data from the excavation of the Faramarz site it can be concluded that the breeding animals were very important and we hope that future animal bone studies helps to reconstruct the plaeo-diet of the site. On the other hand, a large number of shells of sweet waters were found in the site, which indicates that aquatics were hunted from adjacent rivers by residents. The ceramic assemblages of the site help us to reconstruct the relationship between the central plateau and central Zagros and Mesopotamia.

Pottery -as the most prominent archaeological material- has a great role in reconstruction of regional and transregional interactions. So identification of the pottery assemblages of each cultural periods is very important. A few archaeological sites related to the Parthian period have been excavated in western Iran. Therefore, due to the lack of enough ceramic collections to identify and distinguish the pottery of this period, recognition of Parthian sites in western Iran encounter with some problems. So, it's necessary to present a precise dated collection of the Parthian pottery in order to have a better understanding of regional changes in this period. One of the most important sites in western Iran is Qal'eh-i Yazdigird, which has been excavated recently. Describing the pottery forms of this region, could be helpful in the regional pottery studies, as well as relative chronology in the Parthian life world. Pottery is the most prominent archaeological material which has a great role in reconstruction of regional and interregional interactions. So, identification of the pottery assemblages of each cultural period is very important to clarify their chronology and their technological significance. So far, few archaeological sites related to the Parthian period have been excavated in western Iran. Therefore, due to the lack of ceramic collections to identify and distinguish the pottery of this period, recognition of Parthian sites in western Iran encounters some problems. So, it is necessary to present a precise dated collection of the Parthian pottery in order to have a better understanding of their regional changes in this period. One of the most important sites in western Iran is Qal’eh-i Yazdigird, which has been excavated recently. Describing the pottery forms of this region could be helpful in the regional pottery studies, as well as for relative chronology in the Parthian world. According to the excavated pottery, three types have been reported, including clinky, glazed and common wares. Comparative studies on the pottery suggest most of them have been made locally, but some are probably from other sites and show cultural-commercial relationships between this site and other contemporary settlements during the Parthian. On the basis of forms and technical characteristics, it seems that the pottery belonging to the late Parthian period can be classified into two types of ordinary pottery and semi-precise ceramics. In addition to the pottery, other archaeological findings, such as building units, are very useful in our study to reconstruct the chronology of site.

The Islamic site of Anda-jin is one of the most prominent and extensive sites from the Islamic period of Hamadan-Bahar plain, located 8 kilometers north of Hamadan in the fertile Quraq plain. The purpose of this research is to study the historical geography, cultural background and archaeological findings of the site. Studying and analyzing the archaeological findings obtained from the site and its correspondence with the written sources is the most important issue to be addressed. According to the abundance of pottery found, such as tiles and architectural remains, the site dates back to the sixteen and eighteen centuries AH. Archaeological, historical references and geographers reports of the Islamic period — such as those on Marje Gharatkin, Dai-Marje, Ghorogh and Andaei Meadow — indicate that this region may have been a large settlement (town) in the Ilkhanid period and perhaps there has been a military camp in the western parts of the country called “New Hamadan” or “Isin-Qotlogh”. 

Seals are one of the most important archaeological findings that provide reliable information about geographical names and job positions of the past. During Sasanian period seals were used by individual government officials. The use of seals expanded with the growth of Sasanian economy. In the archives of the Bu’ali Museum of Hamadan, 23 Sassanid seals from the Asadabad area are kept. Eleven of these seals have motifs of human, six have animal motifs, one has hand motif and two others hybrid mythological. The present research deals with the ten seals. Among these ten seals, five have human image (four a man’s image and one a woman image), four seals have animal designs (three bull and one ram) and one is a monogram seal. The purpose of this research is to document, read inscriptions and examine the roles of these seals.

The silverware works of the Sassanid period have their own significance not only for their technological components but also because their archaeological distribution reveals how this craft was very important during the Sasanian period. Their geographical distribution from the interior and exterior territory of the Sasanians Empire also shows the degree of the influence of Sasanian art. These metal works are made in different forms and unique designs, which mostly include images of royal hunting, banquets, faces and torsos of officials, animal and mythical motifs. Mazandaran was one of the important areas for making silver vessels during this period and even years after the collapse of the Sassanian Empire. The dishes introduced in this article are from the latest silver plates obtained from Mazandaran. They are unique in terms of motifs and themes. We compare these findings with other silver works found in the other parts of Iran.

The different environmental features of the Central Iranian Plateau and the Central Zagros region, including the type of access to hydrological resources adjacent to the climatically high pressure regions, such as desert lands and mountainous locations, and the communication constraints are characteristics that throughout the millennia shaped the cultures of these areas. It seems that according to the recent archaeological discoveries and the natural and geographical features’ effects on determination of cultural zones, the revision of archaeological divisions of the central plateau and Zagros is an obvious and essential issue. In the past, the definition of the Central Plateau mainly included the plains of Kashan, Qom and Saveh, Qazvin, Tehran, and the margins of Kavir desert, but did not mention Kurdistan and Hamedan at all. Also, in the Central Zagros area, never mentioned any sites beyond Asadabad and Nahavand. Thus, the role of these regions in the course of cultural transformation, like a blind spot, has always been neglected and archaeologists never considered important places in the areas located between the central plateau and central Zagros, until now. Whereas, geographical divisions, despite the differences between the views of some geographers, emphasize the geomorphologic distinctions of these regions against the Central Plateau and Zagros. Thus, by a review of the factors such as geographical features, catchment areas, quality of communication routes, and the distributional coherence of some cultural materials, especially pottery, the necessity of defining an independent identity for the “Near west” of central Iran, which corresponds to the geological zone of the Sanandaj-Hamedan, distinct from the Central Zagros and the Central Plateau zone, will simply be accepted.

The study of transition process of prehistoric societies from egalitarian stage to the classified and state, is one of the important subjects of archaeology. The administrative technology is one of the symbolic features of prehistoric complex societies, indicating the presence of elite class for controlling the socioeconomic and political affairs. Large amounts of garbage with various deposited cultural materials were discovered during the archeological excavations in 2016 at the ancient site of Ālou in Radekan Village, Qazvin Plain. The site chronologically related to the Late Chalcolithic/ Late Plateau period. The administrative artifacts including clay seals and counting objects (tokens) were found in this project. These artifacts are the main devices of administrative technology. The main purposes of this paper are to introduce and interpret the administrative technology devices in Ālou site and the research on the origins of socioeconomic developments in the Central Plateau of Iran. It reevaluates, at first, the background of cultural developments in the Central Plateau with emphasis on administrative technology and information processes, and afterwards, studies the related cultural materials from excavations of Ālou. The results indicate that the societies of Central Plateau, in the mid-fourth millennium BC, had achieved the socioeconomic complexities by the classified — or chiefdom — structure, prior to the Proto-Elamite horizon. These developments therewith cultural interactions and communications with adjacent regions, originated in the Central Plateau of Iran.

This article aims to reveal the technical and historical characterizations of gilded tile decorations from the Islamic period architecture of Iran. This research is based on several years’ observation in different cities, associated with technical analyses and bibliographical researches. The assessments of results show this technology initially appeared in Miani wares and tiles in Seljuk era. Gilding techniques over silica glazed materials continued on Lajvardina tiles and wares in the Ilkhanid period and thereafter reappeared on various other types of tiles such as Haft Rang (seven-colored), monochrome or Muarraq (Persian-tile mosaics) from Timurid until the Safavid period. Although one sample of gilded tile from Qazvin has been reported from the Qajar, this technique seems to be forgotten after the Safavid period. Gilded tiles have a thin layer of gold as a part of their design (powder of leaf) that was fixed in different technical styles on the surface of glaze. In some samples, the gold leaf simply covered the whole surface of the tiles such as Muarraq pieces, whereas in some other cases it formed very sophisticated decoration. Technical details of gold attachment to the glaze substrate were the subject of different scientific researches. A brief technical description of this technology by Abu al-Qasim al-Kashani in his book Arayes al-Javaher va Nafayes al-Atayeb written in 1301, and aforementioned analytical studies shed new lights on this topic and make it possible to provide a historical and technical overview on this subject.

Tape Gourab is located at Jourāb Village, a suburb of Malayer township in Hamadan province, adjacent to the link road Arak-Malayer. Archaeological researches led by Ali Khaksar conducted on the site in 2006 to determine stratigraphy of the area achieved remarkable results. The site in its highest point is 28 meters above the surrounding lands. In order to provide data for absolute dating totally 13 samples of C14 have been taken from the stratigraphical layers on Tape. Three samples belong to Chalcolithic period. Dating of samples was conducted in the history and art laboratory at the University of Oxford and results were presented on March 4th of the year 2008. According to the chronology and considering the evidence of absolute chronology (C14), pottery and architectural evidence in Gourab, eight cultural periods have been distinguished: Middle Chalcolithic, Bronze Age (Kura-Arex), Iron III/ Achaemenid, Parthian, Sassanid, early Islamic Seljuk and Ilkhanid. Chalcolithic period data of Gourab Tape is comparable with the pottery from Godin Tape, Yaniq Tape, Siah-Bid and Choqa Maran. This paper focuses on the Chalcolithic period of Tape Gourab. According to the chronology and consider the evidence of absolute chronology (C14), pottery and architectural evidence in Gourab eight cultural periods can be specified: Middle Chalcolithic, ancient Bronze, Iron III? Or Achaemenid?, Parthian, Sassanid, early Islamic Seljuk and Ilkhanid. Chalcolithic period data of Gourab tape is comparable with pottery of areas around Godin tape, Yaniq Tape, Siah-Bid and Choqa Maran.