Magnetic Surveys as a Method to Determine the Core Zone of Archaeological Cemeteries Case Study: Mehdiabad-e Olia in the Cultural Landscape of Bam

In premodern societies, cemeteries were formed next to human settlements. The distribution of graves in these cemeteries depended on the size of the population and the use of these settlements. One of the difficulties in modern archaeological research in identifying cemeteries is determining their core and buffer zones. Due to the dispersion of graves, the density of graves in cemeteries can sometimes vary considerably. Determining the core and buffer zone in these areas is therefore always done with great caution. With the advancement of science and various new methods in archaeological fieldwork, the core and buffer zones of archaeological sites can now be done more precisely. One of the more efficient and effective methods in identifying, and consequently, determining the core and buffer zone of sites, is the geophysical survey. A geophysical survey with the magnetic method in the archeological site of Mehdiabad-e Olia in the cultural landscape of Bam was carried out to determine the distribution of archaeological graves and determine the core zone of this ancient cemetery in 2018.