Typology of Iron Age Goblets and Cups

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.