عبدالرضا مهاجری نژاد

The Persian Gulf was considered an important economic center by Sasanian kings, hence; they established special centers for political and religious affairs in this region. It seems to be one of the most important centers of stability of the Sasanians, at the beginning of the arrival of the Arabs, with brave resistance that last for quite some period. This region achieved great civilizational progress during the Elamite and the Achaemenid kings who built many buildings in Tamukkan, an important center for trade and commerce. Tamukkan continued to flourish at the end of the Sasanians due to its extensive maritime trade with the world, and many cities and settlements around it such as Rishahr became large population centers. Due to the importance of this region during the Sasanian period, on the way from Bishapour to Rishahr, many fire temples were built in the foothills of the Persian Gulf, as one can see their remains, including a stone fireplace in the south of Borazjan and groves of Bandarouz village. However, the question that arises is what information does Bandarouz Altar add to our knowledge about the Sasanian fire temple? This is a historical and descriptive-analytical research based on data collected through field survey and library documents. Bases on comparisons of Bandarouz Fire Altar with similar examples, it was found that Sasanian altar in the Persian Gulf are larger than those at other places and none of them are simple architecturally.

The Sasanian, the last Iranian dynasty before the Arab invasion of Iran, overthrew the Parthians and ruled the region for more than four centuries between 224-651 AD. One of the structural characteristics of the Sasanian state was the establishment of an official religion and the concentration of political and religious sovereignty. The official recognition of the Zoroastrian religion led the Sasanian kings and priests to build numerous fire temples in various parts of Iran, and many archaeological evidences of Sasanian era burials have been found, which are intertwined with art. The kings enriched the art of this period by creating rock carvings to display various matters. A rock carving in the Sasanian style was accidentally discovered a few years ago at a local airport in England. When this discovery was reported in the early days of 2023, the main question was whether it was an independent rock carving that had been detached from the mountain or whether it belonged to a structure? Based on the library studies and comparisons made with other works in this article, it seems that the newly discovered Sasanian rock carving from Stansted Airport in London was likely part of a stone structure similar to a fire altar or a Astōdān (one type of Ossuary), and it most probably dates back to the early Sasanian period.

Architectural remains are as the “foundation” of archaeological research, these evidence can be described with words, numbers and precise and clear drawings. But the interpretation of architectural remains and worldview contexts related to human social behavior are still problematic. Architecture is related to material remains, but we must remember that ultimately these remains reflect the customs and worldview of the respective societies. There is no doubt that the individual household unit changes successively over time to accommodate nuclear and extended families, groups, tribe, etc. Cheshme Rajab site is located in Lorestan province, Kohdasht County - Konani district, 500 meters north of the Symareh River, 6.5 km from the top of the Symareh dam, and in the cultural domain of central Zagros. It is considered one of the key sites for the study and cultural developments of the rural settlement period of the region and Zagros.  In April 2019, the second season of extensive (vertical-horizontal) archaeological excavations was carried out by creating three trench in the center, west and south of the site in order to know and be aware of the cultural developments in the region in the said Tepe. The current research is based on the presentation of the exploration results, the discussion of its architectural data analysis. This research  is done with a fundamental purpose and its data collection method is based on the field and library method, and in it, while introducing and describing the architecture of this site, we seek to answer the questions regarding the architectural condition of this site, such as whether it is right-angled and... Which period does the site belong to? Also, based on the results of the archaeological excavation, it can be said that in terms of the obtained works, it belongs to the late Neolithic and Chalcolithic Period.

The study of subsistence economics is an approach that uses the biological remains of humans, animals, and plants and the use of various sciences to reconstruct the economy and food system of different ancient human societies. This article studies the livelihood and economic system of the cultural sphere of northern Iran during the Iron Age, which ranged from the second half of the millennium to the first half of the millennium BC, examining the cultural-economic structure, the most important indicator of which is how the social interaction in the framework of the living system with the ecology of the study area (Savad Kuh) based on archaeological findings. The primary purpose of this study is to explain the livelihood costs and economy of Lefour Iron Age Cemetery. The main question is: To what extent can the plant and animal species identifiable in Lefour play a role in the livelihood economy? The present study is based on the archaeological field method, laboratory; library methods are used to analyze and compare data. According to the suitable living conditions of the region's ecology and climate, the research results are reconstructed to reconstruct Lefour's living pattern and the type of human-environment relationship in the area in a cultural-economic interaction. According to the economic systems of agriculture and animal husbandry, they are interconnected parts of a socio-economic system despite formal differences. Archaeological studies of the area indicate the existence of a hunter-gatherer, farmer, and farmer community in the Iron Age.

Among the collection of findings from the archeological excavations of the Iron Age cemetery of Lefour, in Savadkuh, there is an engraved a two-humped camel on a bronze belt buckle, skillfully made through molding method. According to the studies of physical anthropology, in terms of morphology of the skulls, it shows that the excavated dead bodies were different from the previous inhabitants, and the grave goods also indicate they were cattle breeders and nomads. The most prominent object found is a bronze belt buckle with the engraving of a western two-humped camel on it; this animal is definitely not native to the southern region of the Caspian Sea, and may belong to the plains of Central Asia; the southernmost habitat of this type of camel is in the north of Gorgan plain and in the south of Turkmenistan. In the Achaemenid period, two-humped camel is also shown with groups of gift givers who came from Central Asia and the east of the Caspian Sea. In the memorial stone carvings of Shalmaneser III, the King of Assyrians, there are also people carrying two-humped camels, along with the inscriptions seem to be belonged to a far distant country in the east. The most important questions in this study are: Were the human remains found in this cemetery are native or migrated from other areas? Whether the obtained grave inputs were made on site or imported, and to what extent were they influenced by the artistic and industrial techniques from near or far areas? And is it possible to reconstruct the migration route of these groups in the fertile and foothill areas of Mazandaran by studying the findings of this research? In this article, in addition to comparing the form and nature of the bronze belt buckle with other findings of Lefour Cemetery, the authors analyze and interpret it regarding historical documents and sources to provide more accurate answer to the questions. The result of the research reveals that this object was produced in another place and entered the region through immigrants.

The city of Soltanieh as a political center, the capital of the Mongol sultans, was built in 703 to 716 AH, 30 km southeast of Zanjan. The historical value of Soltanieh, in addition to the capital and its political issues, shows the tremendous progress of architecture in the Islamic era, in which various buildings, both public and private, have been built. Noor hill, one of the largest ancient hills in Soltanieh plain, is located 1500 meters south of Soltanieh dome. According to research conducted in different parts of Soltanieh, Noor Hill is one of the most important places and contains information related to the Mongol Ilkhanate period. The excavation was carried out in September 2009 on Noor Markazi hill and focused on displaying architectural works. The excavation results led to the identification of a tomb tower related to the patriarchal period. In the present study, the attempt to present the results of the excavation is to discuss the analysis of architectural structure and its chronology. Data collection was done based on field and library methods. Excavations in this area led to the identification of a tomb tower from the Ilkhanate period. This stone structure has a cruciform plan from the inside and a twelve-sided plan from the outside. First, the inside of the dome was made of stone carcasses and hemispherical gypsum mortar in the shape of a cross, with a vestibule-like entrance and a dome stem that is not currently available. In terms of architecture and decorations, this area is built with the tombs of the Green Dome Garden of Qom (Khajeh Ali Safi, North Dome and the tomb of Khajeh Asiluddin) and the tomb tower of Azerbaijan (three domes of Urmia, Kaboud Maragheh Dome), Baba Hossein Malayer Tomb Tower, tower He compared the tomb of Imam Zadeh Hood in Jazin, Hamedan, etc

The ancient site of Natel is located in the village of Natel Kenar-e Olia, a district of the city of Nour, which is 6 kilometers southwest of this city in the west of Mazandaran province. According to historical written sources, this city was considered as one of the important cities in Tabaristan during the Abbasid period and had a military garrison. Due to the importance of this historical site, in addition to archaeological surveys, three excavations have been carried out in this site so far in 2008, 2010, and 2016 under the supervision of Abdolreza Mohajerinejad. The present study focuses on some pottery findings of the first and second seasons of these excavations, during which 2166 pieces of glazed and non-glazed pottery were obtained among other findings. Chronology of the aforementioned samples and consequently more detailed and precise knowledge of the settlement periods, better and greater recognition of the pottery of this site, in particular, and pottery of the Islamic period in the southern margin of the Mazandaran Sea, in general, awareness of the similarity and differences of the pottery obtained from this site with the major pottery centers of the Islamic era required a thorough and in-depth study of these samples in the form of classification, typology, and a typological comparison that was carried out in this research. The results of this study show that most of the studied samples belong to the early (3 and 4 AH) and mid-Islamic (5 and 9 AH) centuries, while the samples of the Ilkhanid and Timurid period in this collection are much lower in number than those of the previous centuries. Also, the results of statistical studies on pottery of the historical town of Natel indicate that these pottery wares have relatively good production quality and strength, but they have a lower level in terms of manufacturing technique and diversity of motifs.

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.

Among the ancient motifs from Iran and Mesopotamia, some pictures showing special shaped beakers can be seen but unfortunately no explicit comment has been made on the nature and function of these forms by researchers. Recently, 7 pottery beakers have been found in a Mannaean cemetery (Mala Mcha) and and Iron Age grave (Kani Koter) in northwestern Iran and authors are believed that their shape and possible function are compatible with some of these ancient motifs dating back from the third millennium B.C. to the Achaemenid period. A glazed beaker from Tepe Hasanlu which belongs to Iron Age II also has the same characteristics as the Mala Mcha and Kani Koter examples. Considering the symbolic meaning of the Lotus flower in ancient cultures, as well as their form and decoration, it seems that the Mala Mcha, Kani Koter and Hasanlu pottery beakers have a special application. Previously some researchers in some cases have interpreted these motifs as a Barsom (Barsam) or flower (often lotus). The authors propose that these objects that can be seen on ancient reliefs or ivories are simple or painted beakers equivalent to the clay beakers unearthed in these sites. Probably this type of beaker was not used as normal container, but it seems to have been utilized by high-level people during special events and banquets perhaps for drinking prized liquids. In addition, it seems that the samples of the Mala Mcha, Kani Koter and Hasanlu in terms of shape and possible there function, are comparable with some of the patterns of the motifs discussed in this paper. The grave of Kani Koter is rich and belonged to a warrior of high status. Also the graves of Mala Mcha which had pottery beakers were richer than other graves, and it seems that the users of them have superior position over others. The glazed beaker of Hasanlu was as well as obtained from a room with local and Mesopotamian specimens in a special room. In ancient motifs, users of these objects have a superior social position than others. In this paper, in addition to comparing the shape of the beakers of Mala Mcha, Kani Koter and Hasanlu with the remaining ancient motifs, Chromatography experiments were carried out which unfortunately, did not receive any laboratory data on its application.

The ancient city of Natel has been one of the famous Early-Islamic cities of northern Elburz mountain chain (Tabaristan province); whose ruins have been identified in jungles of Natel-Kenar district, in the vicinity of a village with the same name. Based on historical evidences from early Islamic centuries, Natel was located in between ancient cities of Amol and Chalous, and together with its barracks was accounted as one of the residences of the Muslim governors of northern Iran. As the historical evidences have accounted, like several other Sasanian and early Islamic cities, there existed a barrack called Duke in the vicinity of Natel, in which 500 soldiers were ready to control the state of affairs in Tabaristan. This city was one of the largest cities of Tabaristan in the Abbasid era. The importance of this city in second half of the third century was so much so that Hassan-Ibn Zeid Alavi sought allegiance from people of the area towards forming a Zeidi Shia government. Despite to the mention of the city in most historical and geographical references about northern Iran, there exists numerous questions in relation to its life-time, as well as form and function, as the city has been completely ruined. And so, the aim of the present research is to lay out the chronology of the Natel city, and also retrieve its spatial organization and settlement style. To this end, all information about the city is extracted from the written resources, through a descriptive-analytical method, to be used in the analysis, in comparison with results from the archaeological studies. The authors have carried out signif-icant field study in order to ascertain the form and spatial structure of this city; examples of which are two seasons of excavations in the years 1387 and 1389, and systematic surface sur-vey in 1392 A.H./2013. As a result, it became evident that the city of Natel had an irregular oc-tagonal plan and that the prevailing patterns of Iranian central cities were adopted towards for-mation of its boroughs (including the Arg, Sharestan and Rabaz). Stone and wood were the main architectural materials used in this city, and the urban designers have benefited from the “Shim Roud” river for strengthening the south-eastern fortifications. In addition, trenches were dug in parallel to other walls to complete city’s defensive system. Interestingly, the security of defensive walls of the governmental Arg was also provided through a different trench and thus it can be accepted that Natel had a unique plan and defensive system.