Tal 11, A Chalcolithic Settlement in Talvar Dam Basin, Bijar, Kurdistan Province

Site No. 11 of Talvar dam was excavated in 2010 aimed to be salvaged and archaeologically studied. Preliminary studies indicated that there had been a nomadic area with chalcolithic pottery. Accordingly, there was a need to study the material culture (mainly pottery). In this article, first chalcolithic potteries of the area are generally presented and described; then, typology and classification of the findings are administered and comparing with the pottery data of the nearby areas, their relative dates are provided. Based on relative chronology, Tal 11 site dates to the first half of the fourth millennium B.C. (4000 to 3700 B.C) and is coincided with Dalma pottery tradition (middle chalcolithic). Tal 11, having its own local culture and pottery similarities within Talvar river basin, i.e. Tal 12 and Kalnan tepe, shows also similarities with western region of center of Iranian Plateau and Zanjan region, at least in relation with pottery tradition. Due to the types of potteries, lack of architectural traces, and deficiency of cultural deposits, it can be concluded that settlement of this area was temporary and nomadic.