نشریه پژوهه باستان سنجی
سال چهارم شماره 1 (پیاپی 7، بهار و تابستان 1397)

The research is dedicated to recognize most effective attributes and main factors in locating and distribution of Islamic settlements of Bostan Abad plain, East Azerbaijan. The data under study is composed of 226 sites containing archaeological remains of Islamic period, resulted from three seasons of archaeological surveys covering 279km2 of the plain. The Geomatics is a culculatory, analytic approach for making predictive geographical models about the interaction of archaeological sites with their surrounding environment, aimed at explaining characteristic environmental factors and attributes contributing in decision making of settlement location and distribution along a geographical zone. As every geographic region is made of different ecological zones, it has been possible for human beings to make different transactions with each of them and in doing so, constructing a distinct settlemental, subsistence system, culturally adapted to affectively cope with the limitations and potentialities of every different ecological zone. A geographic information investigation of archaeological sites distributions in a given region by means of some analytic tools such as site buffering with different environmental attributes, site catchment analysis and so on could help in building some precise practical models by using of which it would be possible to to decide more accurately the kind of every archaeological settlement remains in terms of its potentiality of supporting which kind of subsistence system. The analysis of settlement correlations with the surrounding environment has done on the basis of attributes including permanent streams, height above the sea, precipitation, climate, vegetation, slope, the area of sites, and their buffering related to today settlements, using GIS and SPSS-related methods of analysis. The results show existence of a kind of settlement patterning of distribution, according to which it is possible to categorize settlements in three separate clusters. On the one cluster, settlements located in plains as well as lowlands in vicinity of permanent streams had heighest area among the whole settlements, suitable for village living and agriculture; on another cluster, settlements located in the marginal zones of the plain with much lesser in area and vicinity to pasturelands might be evidence of a kind of village-based pastoralism. Yet, the third kind of cluster is containing settlements located in higher latitude with much more in area in comparison with the second cluste, suitable for fully nomadic pasturalist’s settling during summers. The study showed that the investigated region can offer different subsistence possibility to build up along with the effort dedicated by communities settled it during different times of Islamic period. It is interesting while somehow predictable that there is and according to GIS-based models resulted from the study that the region has been very poor in providing an appropriate ground necessary for human cummunities to develop higher forms of settlemental, organizational and cultural developments, even during later parts of Islamic period. Accordingly the results also indicated that at least this part of northwestern Iran has not had any internal capacity necessary for higher levels of social as well as settlemental hierarchies to be formed organically, making every kind of higher than village life styles of the region a product of external, governmental developmental effords of recent years.

Archaeologically, eastern Iran is poorly known compared to the other regions of Iranian Plateau. Hence, there are many unanswered questions regarding the prehistoric chronological table of this region. The present knowledge of prehistoric cultures and chronology of Southeastern Iran is mostly through based on the 1960s archaeological excavations. In particular, the common chronology of the Chalcolithic period in SE Iran is exclusively based on the dates from old excavations at two sites of Tepe Yahya in Soghun valley and Tal-I Iblis in Bardsir plain. Due to the exciting discovery of major Bronze Age urban centers in southeastern Iran, such as Shahr-e Sokhte, Shahdad and Konar Sandal (Jiroft), most scholarly attention has been given to the 3rd millennium BC. As a result, the cultures preceding and posterior the Bronze Age have been often neglected. Recent project of Dasht-e Lut resulted in new information on the chronology of the prehistory of SE Iran. This paper is intended to expose 10 radiocarbon data from recent excavations at two prehistoric sites on the west of Lut desert, Shahdad area in Kerman province. Recent excavations at Tepe Dehno and Tepe East Dehno in Shahdad plain have revealed levels dating back a period from the early 5th to early 3rd millennium BCE based on 14C absolute dates. Tepe Dehno is a large site is located about one kilometer from the east of the Bronze Age urban site of Shahdad. It is a shallow large mound, surrounded by several small solitaire mounds. It is founded on the top of a natural hill. The site is approximately 20 hectares in extent and rises 8 m above the level of the surrounding land. In term of occupational sequence, excavation at Tepe Dehno established three main occupation periods so far which they are labeled from the oldest to the youngest Dehno I-III. These periods were distinguished based on ceramic evidence and absolute dates. Dehno I period as the earliest occupation corresponds to late fifth millennium BC (4250-4000 B.C) was identified in trench IV. The second period was documented through excavations at trenches I & II; Dehno II period is related to mid to late fourth millennium BC (3700-3300 BC), known as Aliabad (Iblis IV) culture. Dehno III period (3200-2900/2800 BC) is a hitherto unknown period that came from 2 charcoal samples from Trench III. Tepe East Dehno is a prehistoric site located 700m east of the site of Tepe Dehno. Two radiocarbon dates from this trench indicate that the occupation of Tepe East Dehno falls into the first half of the fifth millennium. In this paper, based on both new absolute dates and comparative relative chronology, I attempted to appraise critically the chronology of the Chalcolithic period of SE Iran and finally an updated chronological table of the period was presented. A total of 10 radiocarbon charcoal samples from the mentioned excavated sites were analyzed using Accelerator Mass Spectrometer (AMS) method. Radiocarbon determinations from the excavated sites have provided this opportunity to revise the prehistoric chronology of South-East Iran. Evidence illustrated that the old chronology of Southeastern Iran needs a principal revision.

Frist Quran manuscripts remained from early centuries of Islam, have been written on skin in Quran script, and are considered as the most important works of that times. Due to the very small amount of organic matter left over the past years, the study of these works has been very limited, so the information about these works is based only on library studies, including the information contained in the old books and comparative-historical studies. One of these works is a folio of a Quran manuscript with the size of 14.5 × 9.5 cm (Property no.: 1315) which is preserved in the Quran and Redaction Museum of Tabriz. According to the materials contained in the birth certificate, this manuscript has been transferred from Golestan Palace of Tehran to this museum during the past years. Experts have identified the material and information on this skin according to the type of textbook and eventually, its adaptation to similar works. Despite its historical and cultural values, it has not been yet investigated scientifically, neither from historical nor artistic point of view. Structural study not only can be useful in assessing the authenticity of the manuscript, but also provides a detailed account of the treatment of skin in the early stages of Islamic era. It should be noted that the results of the processing method can be cited if the authenticity of the manuscript could be proved. During this research, the processing technique and constituent elements, including bedding, type of bedding, and black and red inks on it were identified and studied. The objectives of this study include examining the authenticity of the work and, in the case of authenticity, obtaining documented results in the basin of the method of dermatology in the early years of Islam. Due to the historical, cultural and religious importance and, ultimately, the sampling constraints, non-destructive methods that require less sample were used. The strategies of this research are based on ancient metamorphic and laboratory studies, including spot tests as well as instrumental techniques. In this research, this artifact has been studied using UV photography to evaluate the authenticity, FTIR investigation to recognize the support material and make distinguish between the paper and skin, electron microscopy studies to identify the type of the animal whose skin has been used, SEM imaging to explore the morphology of cross section of the skin sample, and finally, SEM-EDX analysis to study the ink which has been used to write the manuscript. The spectra of the Fourier transform infrared spectrometry indicate the proteinaceous structure of the artwork, so the support of this manuscript is of skin and not paper, thus it can be called “skin” or “parchment”. The results obtained indicate that the support material of this folio is the skin of a type of sheep. The results of the analysis of the images obtained from the SEM are such that in some places there are microcircuits and gaps in the surface of the fiber that can be caused by the pressures introduced in the production process as well as by the effects of different factors over the time (such as atmospheric and environmental factors). It is worth noting, however, that these cracks and cracks do not have a serious effect on appearance, and the skin just has somewhat lost its softness. Regarding the dark ink, the result is not certain due to the presence of too many elements, however, according to the presence of copper, Motavvas (peacock) ink is suggested. Regarding the red ink, cinnabar is suggested as mercury and sulfur elements were identified. Authenticity investigation confirms that there is no evidence of erased or added line in this folio and it can be concluded that there is no evidence of forgery in the text and signature.

Investigation of scientific archaeological excavation reports in Iran indicated that these excavations yielded a large number of fragments of glass objects from many archaeological sites, but a very limited number of preliminary studies on elemental analysis of a few Iranian glass objects have been published. Also, a literature survey on pre-Islamic glass objects (especially from Parthian and Sasanian epoch) indicates that there are only a few studies on a limited number of Sasanian and Parthian glasses from Iraq, too. However, a systematic analysis of the Parthian glasses artifacts from Iran is still missing and until now, no reports has been reported about the chemical composition of Parthian glasses from Iran. Therefore, for the first time, the chemical composition of Parthian glass objects from the Shaur Palace at Susa in Khuzistan Plain have been considered. Shaur Palace locates at the west of the ancient site of Susa, next to Shaur River, Khuzestan province, south-west of Iran. It has been excavated by a joint French-Iranian team since 1970 to 1976. There were recognized three Islamic, Parthian, and Achaemenid strata. In this work, 21 glass objects date back the Parthian period were analyzed by Micro- PIXE technique in order to measure the constituent elements and to investigate the types of glass and raw materials used in the manufacturing recipe. The micro-PIXE measurement was performed with scanning proton microprobe system manufactured by Oxford Instruments using the 3 MV Van de Graaff accelerators at the Nuclear Science & Technology Research Institute in Atomic Energy Organization of Iran. The samples were analyzed in a vacuum chamber using a beam of 2.5MeV protons focused to a diameter less than 10 μm. The beam current was in the range of 30 to 50 pA. Characteristic X-rays were detected using a Si(Li) detector with an active area of 60 mm2 positioned at an angle of 135° relative to the incident beam direction and with an energy resolution of 150 eV for Fe-Kα. Analyzed samples were fragments of the body, rim, bottom, and handle of vessels such as bowls, bottles and beakers. They were generally green with a nacreous coating, resulted from surface corrosion due to long-term burial in the soil. Also, 90% of glass objects manufactured at Shaur Palace were manufactured on free blowing method and most of them were plain and undecorated. Elemental analysis of the glass artifacts by micro-PIXE indicated that the constituent elements of the samples are sodium, magnesium, aluminum, silicon, phosphor, sulfur, chlorine, potassium, calcium, titanium, manganese, and iron, with different concentration and weight percent percentage (wt%). Determination and measurement of each of these elements respond to questions raised about the technology, type of the glass and raw materials of manufacturing recipe. The micro-PIXE analysis showed that these samples are mainely composed of SiO2 (63-65 wt %), Na2O (13-18 wt %) and CaO (6-8 wt %). Consequently, all these samples are Silica- Soda- Lime glass type. However, the amounts of magnesium oxide (MgO) and potassium oxide (K2O) in all analyzed samples were more than 2.5wt%, where their contents vary between 2.5 to 5wt%, and 2.5 to 4.5wt%, respectively. Therefore, it is was clear that the ashes obtained from halophytic plants are considered as supplying source for soda in these glasses, so these glasses are Plant ash Silica- Soda- Lime type. Moreover, the micro-PIXE results clearly revealed that in the manufacturing of all shaur glass objects the same sources of silica and plant ashes have been used. In addition, the strong linear correlation of minor elements in the samples indicated that colorants and decolorizing agents have not been intentionally added in the manufacturing process.

The aim of this paper is to consider what constitutes agent-based modelling (ABM) and how this can relate to archaeological reasoning. The development and construction of ABM models is an essential prerequisite for most archaeological reasoning. Both directly and indirectly, archaeologists are making extensive use of ideas and methods in applications that derive from archaeological, anthropological as well as ecological and behavioural theories. Technically before the development and wide spread use of computer soft wares these applications run statistical methods and are almost as varied in kind as is their quality. In applications, archaeologists today are concerned with developing or applying a model through using ABM idioms as the means for expressing relationships thought to characterize the data in question as ABM thinking is concerned with the conceptual system for which the model is constructed. The notion of an ABM model as a means to draw out what must be true in a hypothetical system through using and manipulating symbols to convey and represent concepts and properties which has been most extensively developed in the axiomatic method. Since the last decades of the twentieth century onwards there has been a rapidly growing interest in implementing agent-based modelling (ABM) in archaeological and anthropological studies. The biggest advantage of such model is creating an artificial ancient society and populating it with autonomous agents who live on spatial landscapes. In such models agents have been given certain rules of behaviour that define their way of interacting with their environment and with each other. The rules and behaviour of the agents are described by the modeller and most of the time they are stochastic. But they can also be defined based on real archaeological data and certain factors can be parameterised to test the authenticity of a hypothesis or to find out the reasons of an emergence. Emergence refers to the nonlinear relationship between multiple heterogeneous components and their interaction in their environment. Nowadays, emergence is an interesting topic to philosophy and science ranging from physics and chemistry to the social science and humanity. Our society is a good example of emergence. The creation of a society is the result of individuals’ interaction that in return influences the behaviour of those individuals. At first glance, it may seem very coherent and well integrated, but in fact it is made of a complex system in which each of us, as a component, interact with our environment through our acts and decisions. It might imply that knowing the laws of a society enable us to predict the behaviour of its components. However, even using the most scientific methodologies may not be resulted in a reliable prediction. In fact, in a complex system like a human society each component, depending on their authorities, may take decisions that result in completely different outcomes. Simulation technology is a powerful tool that enables us to predict human behaviour and decision making defined parameters. Two main potentials of ABM and simulation in archaeology are theory building and hypothesis testing. This paper is an introduction to the design and application of agent-based modelling and the analysing methods of such systems for archaeological purpose.

Nowadays, over time and increasing the awareness of the destructive effects of the use of chemical and toxic substances on the objects, the environment and users, the replacement or, minimum use of these harmful materials in the treatment and protection of valuable and rare objects is a priority. So throughout the world, researchers are seeking to develop and use safe and standard methods in this area. One of these methods is the plasma technology. Plasma can be defined as the fourth state of matter. Giving energy to a gas will induce the ionization of some of its molecules and atoms. The plasma contains therefore, besides neutral molecules, positively and negatively charged particles, although its overall charge is neutral. Cold plasma due to features such as low temperature and high energy, in addition to a wide range of applications in various fields, since 1979, has attracted the attention of specialists in conservation and restoration of cultural and historical objects. Cold plasma in disinfection and cleaning treatments of works has been examined as a non-toxic and non-invasive alternative in the field of cultural heritage. Different methodologies were developed in time using mechanical methods, solvents and, more recently, laser, to cleaning of architectural surfaces, and in a more recent time, atmospheric plasma began to be tested for such application. A positive feature of plasma is the fact that is contactless: it does not interfere mechanically with the surface being treated, and also with soft chemical action, the process of cleaning only limited to the first layers of the surface. Hence this method can prevent the adverse effects of solvent and /or imprisonment and lateral harmful products on the pores and porous surface, which is often present in common cleaning methods. In other words this method could be a good alternative for abrasion methods, that cannot remove the dirt from the pores and often lead to the damaging of the original surface, or for chemical methods, which solvents can transport undesired materials (dirt or old coatings) deeper inside through pores, cavities or cracks. Plasma might substitute or be used in combination with other techniques, particularly for delicate objects where original material might be endangered by a mechanical or wet cleaning method. In many cases the plasma alone is not as efficient as traditional methods. For instance, in case of removal of graffiti, a combination of plasma with traditional cleaning methods showed surprisingly good results or in the case of removal of oil paint from wall paintings, a pre-treatment with plasma can improve the removal with traditional solvents. The application of innovative cleaning technology on cultural properties demands sufficient knowledge concerning the cleaning process itself and the long-term behavior of an object after cleaning, because they are often unique and irreplaceable. Furthermore, the experiences carried out in various museums and research centers mentioned in this paper showed that cold plasma is appropriate methods to remove corrosion curst on metals particularly tarnished silver. Decontamination of wood and the objects based on cellulose like paper and cotton as well as protein materials (leather, wool) is another application of cold plasma presented in the paper.

Special potentials of plaster causes that it becomes one of the mostly used materials in Iranian architecture in various historical periods. The potentials including low price than other materials, optimum resistance to environmental factors, fast hardening, ductility and good paintability are the main reasons for being using widely in Iranian architecture. These features results in using the plasters as the main material in the interior decoration of monuments in most historical periods. On the other hand, easy ductility and fast hardening cause that the Iranian architects use plaster in the various façade decorations of monuments. However, vulnerability of plaster to moisture and rapid climate changes in the mountainous regions reduces the life expectancy and becomes vulnerable in the exterior decorations of monuments. Hence, it is necessary that restoration and reconstruction of exterior facade adornments of historical monuments be established in the short-term periods. The Complex of Sadaghiani House of Tabriz is one of the monuments adapted on List of National Sites by No. 7498 on February 1, 2003. The house uses plaster in decoration of monument facade and capitals. This complex was built in mid of Qajar Era and a vast section of house had been demolished for reasons. The plaster capitals fully damaged. Following the retrofitting, the restoration of complex commenced in 2012 submitting to Tabriz Islamic Art University. After reconstruction of various sections of monument, few samples of residue capitals restored and reconstructed. Reconstructing the demolished capitals possesses complex form elements and details. It is costly and time-consuming. Hence, using alternative methods and the potential of techniques in relevant domains stands necessary. To duplicate the reconstructed capitals while maintaining the form features and structural details of samples, the method of hard-shell molding was utilized which is appropriate for molding those parts and artistic and industrial works that have complex form elements and negative spaces in their structure. This method entails a good robustness because of having a hard shell that usually uses FRP polymer matrix composites. In casting, assembly and installing mold on the determined site and using a flexible core, usually made of silicon resin, it reduces the number of mold Pieces and creates form details and negative spaces with an optimum quality. In this respect, one of the residue capitals with more complete form details was selected. Then, the stages of restoration implemented. Finally, the stages of molding and duplication of original sample carried out. Using the method in molding and reconstruction of demolished samples causes improving the quality, robustness, and expediting the process of restoration and reconstruction that has been reported briefly in the present manuscript.