Archaeological survey of mining and Melting Industrial Workshops in Tabas Khorasan area

Accumulation of metal-rich mines in Great Khorasan region and brilliant history in the production of metal works from prehistoric times to the Islamic era caused ancient texts and sources to always emphasize the dynamics of metalworking in the northeastern and southeastern provinces of Iran.. Tabas city is located in South Khorasan province .There are many evidence of melting sites as well as mineral deposits in this cultural it is important in terms of evidence of melting and metal extraction and through the existence evidence of metal extraction. During archeological studies in 2015 and 2018 and writers’ field visit in the year 2021 in this cultural zone, have discovered 3 mines and 12 metal smelting sites. This research tries based on the results of archaeological field methodological study, texts and written sources, descriptive – analytical method to identify the evidence related to metallurgy industry, smelting technology and type of extracted ore deposit .With the studies done, typology and comparative comparison of the discovered slag with the known metal centers, it seems that the composition of the slag includes the main elements of iron, lead and copper, Archaeological field studies performed in mines and metal smelting sites identified show that metallurgists in this area used open and underground methods to extract minerals and after transferring mineral parts to workshops and smelting furnaces, they used roasting method for melting metals. Cultural materials (pottery) obtained from around the only furnace discovered show that this mine will cover the ages (Seljuk to Timurid).