نشریه پیام باستان شناس
پیاپی 6 (پاییز و زمستان 1385)

Construction activities, especially dam construction in recent decades, have put many ancient sites at risk. Among them, only a few of them have been studied and explored. Therefore, the development process has a speed faster than archaeological studies, and from this point of view, the result can be guessed. One of these projects is the dam construction project in the northwestern Zagros region and the western Azerbaijan region. This dam is called Shahrikand (the name of the part where the village of Qaraguiz is located). The Shahrikand dam is in the final stages of its construction and with the first water intake, the village of Qaraguiz and three ancient sites around it will be submerged. During the visits to the terraces of Simineh River in Shahrikand section in 2003 for the purpose of Paleolithic studies, three ancient sites (mounds) were identified in the village of Qaraguiz and its surroundings. The potsherds collected from the surface of these three mounds show different periods such as Dalma, Pizdali and possibly Bronze Age, which are introduced in this article.

Due to its importance in the archaeological studies of Northwest Iran, the Abharrud basin was investigated and identified during two seasons in 2004 and 2005 with an area of 3400 square kilometers. The investigation was carried out in Abhar and Khorramdara counties with the objectives of identifying and recording artifacts, studying the pattern of settlements, studying the cultural connections of this area with other parts of the country, and as a result, 257 ancient artifacts were identified. The identified works were very diverse and mostly included ancient sites and mounds that were probably old village centers. The study of pottery and other surface finds indicates that the Abharrud region has been inhabited by humans since the Paleolithic period, and the settlement in its various parts continued until the late Islamic era.

The archaeology of the Transcaucasus has a very close relationship with the archaeology of the Near East in all periods, especially Northwest Iran and East Turkey, which play an important role in this bilateral relationship. One of the archaeological periods of Transcaucasia is the Early Bronze Age culture, which has a relative chronology from the end of the 4th millennium BC to the first half of the 3rd millennium BC. In this article, we try to provide a summary about the round buildings that are characteristic of the Early Bronze Age architecture by comparing the architecture of the Shomu-Shulaveri culture and Transcaucasia Bronze Age.

The Assyrian civilization is considered one of the most important Mesopotamia civilizations, which has been known through the efforts of archaeologists, linguists, historians of art history, etc. Among the many arts left over from this civilization, the art of sculpture and carving on stone is of great importance; The discovery of dozens of steles and reliefs belonging to this period indicates this. In the course of archaeological investigations in 1972, Professor Louis Vanden Berghe discovered a rock relief belonging to the late Assyrian period in a place called Ashkoft Gol-Gol in the central Poshtkouh region of Lorestan, which is considered a part of Ilam province today. This relief has important artistic, religious, literary and political information related to this period. This article introduces the mentioned cultural monument and examines the studies done on it.

The geographical region of Abharrud in Zanjan province has a situation due to its special geographical location, knowing the extent and quality of its cultural development in the Parthian period can help us to better understand the cultural developments in the northwest of the country in the Parthian period. This research was carried out in the form of a field study and in order to clarify the cultural situation of the region in the Parthian period; In this regard, the survey of the geographical area of Abharrud (including the cities of Abhar and Khoramdareh) was carried out in two seasons and as a result, 257 ancient sites were identified, of which 64 sites had Parthian artifacts. The study of the typology of Parthian pottery in the region as well as the general understanding and reception of the settlement pattern of the region in the Parthian period is one of the important results of this research, which indicates demographic changes or changes in the distribution pattern of settlements compared to the previous period. In addition, it was determined that most of the settlements in the region are small villages and no evidence of urban centers was identified. It seems that the material culture of the region in the Parthian period, while having some native-local characteristics, distinguishes it from other western and northwestern regions of the country to some extent. Finally, it is a part of the cultural scope of the west and northwest of the country.

Zanjan province has been one of the important centers of political, social and cultural developments in Iran due to its special geographical location during the Islamic era, especially during the Seljuk and Ilkhanid eras, due to many reasons, this importance is doubled. From the Seljuk period, the remains of a number of castles and defensive fortifications along with two mosques and a mausoleum remain in Zanjan province, which makes it possible to study the evolution of the region's architecture. Further, from the Ilkhanid period, in addition to the majestic and magnificent building of the Soltanieh dome as a manifestation of the architecture of the middle ages of Islamic Iran, a tomb and the incomparable building of the Dash-Kasan temple, the remains of a large number of residential settlements and also the remains of four-story houses from the Tarem region have been identified, which shows the expansion of architectural art in the period. Ilkhani is Zanjan province. The 7th and 8th centuries AH were the prosperity period of architecture in the region. In this research, two architectural styles, Razi and Azari, have been studied on the buildings. Anyway, the results of this research indicate that during the Seljuq and Ilkhanate period, Zanjan province was one of the centers of gravity of the culture and art of Islamic Iran, especially in the architecture.

The excavations at Tepe Nargeh, located in the south of Takestan county, began in 1998. These excavations are carried out every year for the purpose of teaching practical courses for archaeology students of Islamic Azad University, Abhar branch. So far 39 trenches with dimensions of 10 x 10 m and seven stepped trenches have been excavated in different parts of it. The artifacts that were found during these years and in different trenches, mainly belong to the Islamic era, among which a jar with inscription was found during the excavation of 2005 from trench 14K. This jar is decorated by Quranic verses, which this article introduces and describes.