A Reappraisal of Shahdad: Chronology, Seals, Metal and Clay Objects

The western Lut desert is well-known in the archaeology of Southwest Asia because of the existence of an early urban center (Shahdad) that dates back to the 3rd millennium BC. The site of Shahdad, as one of the major urban centers of the Bronze Age of Southeastern Iran, plays an important role in the Near Eastern archaeological studies. After half a century of Shahdad excavations, it is time to have a new look at Shahdad and its objects in light of our present knowledge from the archeology of southeast Iran. Here is an assessment of Shahdad data obtained from Shahdad excavations such as seals, metal and clay objects. In another article, we discussed the rest of finds of Shahdad. In this study we tried to present a revised chronology for Shahdad. This article also provides information on the status of the regional and trans-regional cultural interactions of Shahdad.