نشریه پژوهه باستان سنجی
سال نهم شماره 2 (پیاپی 18، پاییز و زمستان 1402)

The ancient sites of Jahangir Dome and Goriye tape in Ilam province are very important in the archaeological studies of the Sassanian period. In the excavations, a large number of glass objects were obtained, and among these objects, 20 pieces of glass bracelets with different designs were also observed which belonged to the Sassanian period.This research is based on field studies, library, and laboratory analysis. twenty pieces of glass bracelets were selected for typological and morphological studies, and considering the difference in appearance and color of the samples, twelve of them have been chosen for elemental analysis, after that by comparing the bracelets of these two areas with Siraf glass bracelets, has been tried to investigate the possibility of trading these objects through trade routes between the south and western regions of Iran. The research questions are: On the basis of morphology, how many groups are divided glass bracelets obtained from Jahangir Dome and Guriye tape on the basis of morphology? Based on the comparison of elemental analysis results with Siraf bracelets, Is there a possibility of trans-regional communication in the trade route between the west and south of Iran? Based on elemental analysis, is the similar raw material used in making these bracelets?The result shows that the glass bracelets can be divided into five groups which include 1 - simple circular bracelets, 2- twisted bracelets with a semi-circular section, 3- ribbed bracelets, 4- Twisted bracelets with spiral cross sections, 5- bracelets with geometric decorations. Morphologically and these bracelets are similar to the glass bracelets obtained from the ancient site of Siraf. In addition, the elemental composition shows that these bracelets are of the type of silica-soda-lime glass in which the source of the supply of soda was the ash obtained from plants grown in salty soils.

In the second half of the 4th millennium BC, cultural homogeneity is formed in large areas of the Iranian plateau, which is called the Porto Elamite period or horizon.   At the same time as this horizon, the settlement was formed in Shahr-I Sokhta, which expanded the size of the city in the 3rd millennium BC and many satellite sites came into being in the southern plain of Sistan. One of the satellite sites of Shahr-I Sokhta is Yal site or Taleb Khan 2, which is located 11 kilometers south of this city. In order to more fully understand the cultural developments and settlement patterns of the third millennium BC in the cultural area of southeastern Iran, it is necessary to explore some of the satellite sites of Shahr-i Sokhta in order to achieve a more comprehensive analysis. According to some existing problems and questions, as well as the training of archeology students of Zabul University, Yal site was excavated for six seasons.  In any archaeological excavation, the first question is to know the cultural sequence of each site.   Therefore, during the excavation of the first and second seasons in Yal site, one of the main goals was to know the cultural sequence of the site and provide its relative and absolute dating. During the excavation, four settlement phases were identified.  In this article, an attempt is made to analyze the cultural materials obtained from the excavations and using the results of the c 14 dating to deal with the relative and absolute chronology of this area. The most important questions are: The settlement sequence of Yal was at the same time as which periods of Shahr-I Sokhta? And according to the results of the carbon 14, what is the exact date of settlement in this Site?  In order to date the cultural deposits of Yal, 5 charcoal samples were sent to the laboratory of Oxford University. The results show that this area was inhabited from about 2600 BC to about 2300 BC, that is, at the same time as Shahr-I Sokhta III and Shahr-I Sokhta IV.  Since the pottery findings of the new phases of the area are comparable to layers 1 and 0 of the Shahr-I Sokhta and Taleb Khan 1, an older date should be considered for the periods III and IV of the Shahr-I Sokhta.

Bijar city is located at the highest point of the eastern Kurdistan province and in the connecting path between northwest and west of Iran. Research related to the Islamic era has rarely been conducted in this region; therefore, to fill this gap, the study of human habitats of this era plays a significant role in the reconstruction of regional and beyond regional interactions. The purpose of the current study is to investigate and identify deployment locations based on GIS analysis, understand the position of the region in the archaeological studies of western Iran, and identify the effective factors in the formation of sites and analysis of the deployment patterns. Based on the discovered pottery remainders, the spread of cultural traditions in the middle centuries of the Islamic era in the region shows that the inhabitants of these sites, mostly had local cultural connections both in this region and beyond it. The present study, with a descriptive-analytical approach, tries to respond to these questions: “What were the most important environmental factors in the formation of the sites in the middle century of the Islamic era in Bijar Garrus region? How was the deployment pattern of the region throughout the Islamic era, especially in the middle centuries? What concepts can be taken into account for the distribution of habitats?” Thus, this study played a crucial role in the field by examining the formation of the sites in terms of various variables such as height above mean sea level (AMSL), roads, direction and degree of land slope, proximity to the river, and height code. From the cultural point of view, the results show that the cultural materials represent the effects of neighboring areas. In this study, to obtain the deployment pattern of the region in the Islamic era, 82 sites were examined and align with the environmental variables, a specific statistical method for cluster analysis was used.

Studying and measuring the elemental composition of historical and ancient glasses are of special importance in sciences related to archeology. Only by being aware of the elemental composition of historical glasses, valuable information can be obtained regarding the technology and technique of production, determining the raw materials used in production, as well as examining trade and exchange of raw materials and finished products. In this research, 41 samples of glass fragments obtained from the historical city of Seymareh, which dates back to the Sasanian period, were analyzed using the micro-PIXE techniqe. The aims of this research are to provide appropriate answers to the questions raised in this field using elemental analysis. The first fundamental question is to determine what raw materials were used to make glass products in the historical city of Seymareh. Determining the flux materials used in these glasses is also of particular importance, as identifying the type of flux material can play a significant role in studying the trade and exchange of raw materials. Another question in this regard is to investigate the diversity of silica resources and identify the colorants and decolorants used in the manufacturing process. The results of this study indicate that all the analyzed glass samples from the historical city site of Seymareh are classified into the silica-soda-lime group of glasses. Based on the weight percentage of magnesium oxide and potassium oxide present in these glasses, which is more than 2.5wt%, it is determined that plant ashes have been used as a flux in their production. The elemental composition results of these glasses also show that based on the raw materials used in their production, the glasses of this site are divided into two major groups, each of which has been produced with different raw materials.

By studying the topic of remote sensing, we are confronting to a  science that gives us comprehensive and complete information about the range or a phenomenon without physical contact with it. It also deals with quantifying the behavior of materials in interaction with electromagnetic energy. Actually , the science of remote sensing includes observing the earth from top to bottom (Earth observation systems. Along with other sciences, remote sensing helps other sciences, including archeology, as a helpful tool and as a strong knowledge with an interdisciplinary perspective.This method in archeology can quickly and accurately discover ancient artifacts deep in the earth and on the surface of the earth. Monitoring of ancient sites, by focusing on ancient sites and using satellites such as Spot, Corona, Landsat and Quickbird, is possible by analyzing satellite images and processing them.  Analyzing data from satellites is very useful and practical in order to investigate terrestrial phenomena such as vegetation, surface soils, rocks, water, cities, human phenomena, etc. In the western region of Kermanshah and Iraqi Kurdistan, many ancient remains related to agricultural facilities, including water supply systems, have been left since the Sassanid era, which can be identified with the Corona satellite in the past landscape of the region.  This article is trying to study the western region of Kermanshah and Iraqi Kurdistan by looking at the use of radar and thermal sensors for the archaeological knowledge of the environment and vegetation . and study the condition of soil, water and  pastures (land use) in relation to the remaining  facilities related to agriculture of the region. The study method of this article was library.

The employment of the Socio-Natural ‎System and recognition of the main subsystems have received less attention in the analysis of the Neo-Assyrian settlements. The main focus of this study is the impact of geographical variables as the primary subsystem within the framework of the Socio-Natural ‎System on the distribution of Neo-Assyrian settlements. In this regard, the social system, in the context of economic factors, including agricultural and migratory systems, and natural factors, such as resource availability and geographical variables, is investigated from two main sources: archaeological studies conducted from the 2000s onwards and derived written documents. Through the combination and analysis of these findings in a Geographic Information System (GIS) workshop, answers are provided to these questions: What is the main pattern of settlements and distribution of archaeological sites in the catchment basin of the Little / Lower and Great / Upper Zab rivers? How has the Socio-Natural ‎System played a role in the distribution of settlements? The results indicate that the primary pattern of settlements, considering available natural resources, is likely to be linear, and the distribution of sites may be a combination of linear and scattered. Agricultural and migratory policies, considering geographical factors, can directly influence the increase and density of Neo-Assyrian settlements in the catchment basin of the Little / Lower and Great/ Upper Zab rivers..

The potteries of Gebri Mud site in sarbisheh city includes varoius pottery that some of their types are the local indicators of southeast of Iran. Is there any connection between the composition of the building materials used in making the pottery of this region and the neighboring regions in the Parthian period? Since the imported aspect of these pottery from the southeastern regions of Iran, Makran and Sistan has been suggested, the provenance of the above works based on the mineralogical composition analysis (sedimentary petrography studies) and the relation between their composition with geological setting of the region has been investigated. In order to determine the geological characteristics of pottery artifacts and the nature of the raw materials used in their manufacture, the thin sections prepared from them were studied by polarizing microscope. The similarity of the petrographic composition of the raw materials of studied pottery with geological rock units and collected alluvial sedimentary samples of around the study area rejects the import aspect of these earthenware from the southeastern regions of Iran and strengthens the possibility that these ceramics are native and made near the place of their discovery.

Excavations at Gird-i Ashoan, an archaeological mound in Piranshahr County in the Lower Zab Basin, have provided remarkable insights into the cultural traditions of the region during the Late Chalcolithic. At Gird-i Ashoan, the surface layers represented ephemeral Iron II-III occupations, the Mannaean period (Sharifi 2021c), totally lacking in architecture. Directly below these later contexts emerged the cultural material characteristic of the Late Chalcolithic, thus marking the presence of a protracted hiatus of several millennia. With its thick deposit of 8.65 m, Gird-i Ashoan in the Zab basin represents a key point in northwestern Iran. Excavations of Gird-i Ashoan revealed a Late Chalcolithic-period deposit, which extended from a depth of 1.00 m down to –9.65 m. Results from the excavations of the site are indicative of the interactions and cultural similitudes of the occupants of Gird-i Ashoan with northwest Iran, north Mesopotamia, Anatolia and the Caucasus.The material culture from the site exhibits close relationships with the coetaneous centers of the Lake Urmia region, on the one hand, and Anatolia, the Caucasus and Mesopotamia, on the other. Building on the finds from Gird-i Ashoan, the present paper addresses the reasons for the chaff-faced pottery’s extension over a wide geographic area from the Caucasus to Mesopotamia, Northern Syria and Northwestern Iran. Excavations at the site brought to light a Late Chalcolithic settlement of an unprecedentedly substantial range, consisting of about 8 m of continuous deposits. The pottery assemblages from the site include chaff-faced ware and Painted Pisdeli ware, suggesting that the site’s strongest interactions were with the Caucasus, Anatolia, and Mesopotamia. The Late Chalcolithic is represented by a thick deposit comprised of 24 layers and 4 architectural phases. A contemporary deposit of such depth, 8 meters, is as yet unreported from northwestern Iran.The presence of the CFW across vast regions was initially linked to the migrations of Mesopotamian groups to Transcaucasia (Marro 2010: 52). Yet, thorough comparison of CFW assemblages excavated from the Caucasus down to the Fertile Crescent, it is now argued that this widespread occurrence does not result, contrary to a frequent opinion, from the migrations of Mesopotamian groups into Transcaucasia; rather, it developed from a local evolution dating back at least to 4500 BCE. The territory spanned by CFW thus constitutes some kind of oikoumene, whose center of gravity is probably located in the Highlands, between the Euphrates and the Kura Basins but not in the Fertile Crescent (Marro 2010). The bearers of the CFW culture appear to have lived side by side with the bearers of the Kura-Araxes culture for a certain while, before the latter supplanted the CFW culture. Test Results of Petrography Techniques shows The inclusions identified in the sample under study are: phenocryst and polycrystalline forms, plagioclase, feldspar, pyroxene, iron oxide, silt particles, clay, calcite, and sedimentary. Based on the regional geology, these components all point to the local provenance of the raw materials. Quartz occurs as fine-grained, mono-crystalline, and semi-rounded inclusion. Another inclusion typical to the whole sample , calcite is particularly significant for pottery studies as its serves as a built-in thermometer. It is lost to heat as temperature reaches 800 °C. Thus, its presence in any specimen will mean the original piece was fired at a lower temperature.In light of petrography, the ceramics fall into three fabric groups. The first group has porous texture. A lot of empty space can be seen in the paste of this group of samples.Group 1 is marked by a silty fabric, having quartz and grog as the dominant component. Contrariwise, Group 2:The second group is clays with silty texture (fine-grained) and heterogeneous silty. In this group, various minerals such as quartz and calcite are observed in the form of coarse to fine pieces in the clay paste. In general, it can be concluded that quartz is present in most samples. Compounds like quartz are present in all soils and it is one of the main components of the soil used in the production of pottery. The presence of calcite is due to lime deposits.

Climate change is like a package full of disasters that affect all aspects of human life. The consequences of climate change are divided into two parts; Direct: climate hazards such as torrential rains, drought, cold and heat waves, and dust storms, which themselves have outcomes such as famine, malnutrition, physical and mental illnesses, homelessness, and mortality; Indirect: long-term socio-economic losses, such as unemployment, forced migrations, population decline, regional insecurity, civil conflicts, war, and socio-political collapse. In climate change periods, we usually face behaviors and occurrences seemingly independent of the climate event's consequences but mostly have an indirect link with it. Research on the current climate change caused by global warming can be useful for archaeologists and historians in knowing the direct and indirect outcomes of this phenomenon and generalizing this information to the past. The consequences of climatic events in archaeological studies are often inferred from signs such as changes in the subsistence system, the abandonment of settlements in a region without evidence of violence, the regional population reduction, changes in the distribution pattern of settlements, etc. Further, historical reports of floods, droughts, famines, outbreaks of epidemics, increases in rebellions, and civil wars can be adapted to periods of climate change. In this article, along with explanations regarding the details of the climate change package, related ancient and historical examples are presented. This research underlines the significance of using paleoclimate research in archaeological and historical studies. Currently, the number and resolution of paleoclimate research conducted in Iran are such that the Holocene climate can be reconstructed with relatively high confidence. The most notable Holocene climate changes include the 8.2 ka BP, 6.2 ka, 5.2 ka BP, 4.2 ka BP, and 3.2 ka BP events, the Early Medieval Cooling (ca. AD 450-850), and the Little Ice Age (ca. AD 1250-1870).The connection between paleoclimate research and archaeological and historical studies can help shed light on crucial issues such as what led to the dark and turbulent periods and the fall of ancient cultures and civilizations. Climate fluctuations in the past posed serious challenges to ancient cultures and historical civilizations, constraining their political adaptability and diminishing social resilience, ultimately leading to grave repercussions for human societies

Archaeologists' main concerns and preoccupation/apprehension have been data entry, documentation, and recording of fieldwork activities results. Digital tools and technologies have entered the archeology field with the beginning of the digital revolution in the 1980s. The presence of various tools and technologies caused an increase in the volume of various archaeological data. Maintaining digital and analog data, analysis, and finding a connection between information was a serious challenge for archaeologists. Another critical and challenging factor in the documentation and archiving of data is the complexity of reusing the recorded data and information. The lack of a single framework and standard procedure to access the archived data has confused digital archaeologists, so they could not use the obtained data as they should. Digital resources and internationally accepted and registered principles have made digital archiving more systematic and conscientious today. This study attempts to provide some points that should be considered in archiving and recording digital data, preparing a suitable platform, and maintaining and supporting it. It will also be considered how digital literacy and the lack of correct use of these data can be deterrent factors.