A Fortress and New Kurgan Burials at Zardkhaneh Ahar: Reassessment of the Chronology of the Late Prehistory of Northwestern Iran

The first and second seasons of extensive survey and excavation at Zardkhaneh were carried out during June-August 2011 and 2012. Third season of excavation continued in August 2014. The survey and excavation yielded materials from the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age. Recently, a survey covering 30 ha at the second millennium b.c. site of Zardkhaneh, located near the city of Ahar in the province of Eastern Azerbaijan, brought to light 95 stone burials indicating that Zardkhaneh was a large cemetery, related to the adjacent settlement and defensive fortress. Our preliminary study shows that the large stone graves and kurgan type burials of Zardkhaneh had close connections with the material culture of areas today located in Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Turkey during these periods.