Introduction and analysis of pre-Parthian archeological findings of Hamedan with emphasis on the results of the excavation at the “Meydan”

Historical sources point to Hamedan/Hegmataneh as a city in the Median, Achaemenid, Seleucid, and early Parthian periods, but after more than a century of archaeological excavations in this city, except some un-suit Achaemenid columns, has not yet been found reliable evidence of this period (Median - early Parthian periods). It seems that the focus of Hamedan archeology studies on t Tepe Hagmataneh and without attention to its outer areas is one of the most important reasons for no detection of any reliable evidence from this city. In fact, the Hegmataneh has taken over almost all archaeological activities of Hamedan for more than a century, and the results have been generalized to the whole city. Therefore, this article first introduces and analyzes the results of the excavation site of the “Meydan”, which is located outside the present-day Tepe Hagmataneh, and then the settlement status of Hamadan in the Median to the beginning of the Parthian period has been investigated and analyzed. Excavation of the Meydan started in the autumn and winter of 2016 and another season in the summer of 2017 because of some urban construction operations in the center of Imam Khomeini Square. Three levels are identified on this site. According to the comparative chronology, which has been done by emphasizing the comparison of objects like kind of pottery, levels II and III of this site are related to the Median and early Parthian periods. The discovery of peculiar types of ceramics from the Median, Achaemenid, Seleucid, and early Parthian periods in levels II and III, along with some architectural structures such as broken walls or pits, indicates this site has been used as a residential area. The detection of the in-suit layers and significant cultural findings in this site, verifiably confirms the existence of Hamedan has been residential in the Median, Achaemenid, Seleucid, and early Parthian periods.