نشریه باستان شناسی
سال سوم شماره 4 (زمستان 1398)

The onset of the Chalcolithic period of Fars in southwestern Iran is marked by the introduction of distinct painted vessels of Bakun ware, supposedly accomplished through interaction with communities in the lowland plains to the west. This paper examines lithic core reduction technology in this period with reference to the materials excavated by a Japanese expedition at Tall-i Bakun B in 1956. The results, although based on a small sample size, elucidate that the Early Chalcolithic lithic industry at this site features typical characteristics known as the Post-Mlefaatian. More specifically, it exhibits the predominant use of unifacial cores for pressure blank production technology. This finding supports our previous view that proposed two phases for the Post-Mlefaatian: the early and late Post-Mlefaatian, characterized by the use of bullet cores and unifacial cores, respectively; each represents the Late Ceramic Neolithic and the Chalcolithic period. As comparable diachronic changes have been observed in the lowland plains to the west, careful research on the backgrounds of these pan-geographic lithic changes would provide a better understanding of the cultural dynamics of this period, explained solely based on ceramic evidence.

Building on the successes of the 2006 and 2007 field seasons of excavations at Ghar-e Boof, the goals of the 2015 TISARP excavation at the site were to achieve higher resolution in the cultural stratigraphic sequence and to gain more robust observations in both synchronic and diachronic perspectives. While the results of the earlier excavations have been published in some details, thus far, our observations were not sufficient for looking at short-term cultural change or examining occupational episodes with precision. Additionally, we hoped to determine if the site contained finds from the Middle Palaeolithic. To varying degrees, we have achieved these goals. The 2015 season focused on the front part of the cave where deposits are thick and offer much higher stratigraphic resolution than was possible in past seasons. This year’s excavation extended far deeper than those of previous seasons, providing for the first time, important information on the use of the site during the Middle Palaeolithic, which in turn allows us to consider possible explanations for the significant differences between the cultural signatures left by the Upper and Middle Palaeolithic occupants of the cave. The documentation of multiple features and the artefacts associated with them, make the study of occupational events at Ghar-e Boof possible. Finally, the presence of a small number of geometric microliths and thumbnail scrapers suggests that Ghar-e Boof preserves evidence for the use of the site during Epipalaeolithic in addition to the rich Upper Palaeolithic record of the site.

There are a number of palaces and other monuments in southern, western, and north eastern Iran, as well as in modern Iraq, Azerbaijan, and to some extent Syria and Jordan which display architectural features recalling those of the monuments of Qal‘a-ye Doxtar and of the Palace of Ardašīr I (so-called Ātaškada) near Firūzābād (Fars), considered to belong to the early Sasanian period, as well as of the complex located in Sarvestān (Fars), dated to the Early Islamic period. The construction date of the first two monuments and of the Sarvestān complex have so far been proposed on the basis of archaeological, architectural and historical elements, which allow only a tentative relative chronology. Here, an absolute chronology based on radiocarbon datings of wood samples from the buildings is presented to shed more light on their construction dates. The obtained ages suggest that the construction of the Firūzābād palatial monuments was accomplished during the reign of Ardašīr I (224-240 CE) and the beginning of the reign of Šābuhr I (240-270 CE) with a probability that the Palace of Ardašīr I was finished after the Qal‘a-ye Doxtar. This fact is in accordance with other archeological and historical documents that suggest that the second palace was built after the establishment of the political stability at the beginning of the Empire. The absolute datings, however, revealed a complex timing for construction and use of the Sarvestān complex dating to post-Sasanian period and put an end on the ambiguous discussions about the chronology of this monument.

In 2016, a ten-days archaeological investigation at Anaqizli Tapeh, located about 9 km southeast of Bastam, was conducted aiming to define a broad chronological setting of the site settlement, in order to ascertain its meaningfulness to the research question posed by the “Spread of Urartu project”. The archaeological research at the Upper and Lower plateaus of the Anaqizli Tapeh has revealed a continuous occupation from the Middle Bronze to Late Iron Ages with a clear peak during the Iron 3 and Iron 4 periods. The geomagnetic prospection of the Upper Plateau yields the presence of two major building complexes A and B with divergent architectonic layouts, possibly indicating a chronological background. Preliminary excavations in trench RGL3 concentrated on a remarkable structure located to the immediate south of building complex B, where the stratigraphy could examined before excavation thanks to a looters’ pit. So far, only the date for the final occupation of this structure into the Iron 4 period could be obtained. Its architectonical and chronological relations to the southern building complex B as well as its stratigraphic relation to the underlying ash and debris layer dating into the Iron 3 period awaits further investigation. The results of our research confirm the significance of Anqizli Tapeh for project aims. In addition to the expectable analogies to the ceramic assemblage of Bastam, the ceramic findings from RGL 3, show close typological relations to the Late Bronze Age as well as Iron 1 and Iron 2 assemblages of the Lake Urmia Region.

This report presents the preliminary results of the excavation conducted between 2013 and 2016 by the Iranian-Italian Joint Expedition in Khuzestan at Kal-e Chendar, in the Shami Valley (ancient Elymais). The site is well known for the outstanding antiquities discovered accidentally in 1936 followed by the excavation carried out briefly by the famous explorer Aurel Stein. But it remained neglected for decades despite its importance. It is presumably one of the most important sanctuaries of Iran at least in the Hellenistic and Parthian periods.Further to a survey conducted in 2012, the Iranian-Italian expedition started regular excavation and brought into light the remains of buildings of various type, size and technique, almost certainly made for religious purposes on monumental terraces, similar to those already found in the sanctuaries of Majid-e Sulayman and Bard-e Nechandeh, which are located in the same area. Family tombs of a wide cemetery were also recognized, hypothesise that at Kal-e Chendar the religious and funerary functions were, in some way, interrelated.

Despite the fact that Tapeh Asiab has been described as one of the key sites for studying the emergence of the Neolithic in the central Zagros, previous work at the site has been poorly published. At the same time, fieldwork methods have made a quantum leap since the excavations of Bruce Howe in 1960. We describe new excavations at Tapeh Asiab, which aimed to relocate and document the first excavations at the site, and to recover stratified finds and samples to enable us to better place the site in its regional and chronological context. In particular, our research focused on elucidating the chronology, economy and general character of the Neolithic settlement at Tapeh Asiab. Although the analysis of archaeological finds and samples are mostly ongoing, the preliminary results of our excavations in 2016 suggest that Tapeh Asiab was initially established as a communal or ritual place during the Transitional Neolithic (ca. 9600-8000 BCE) and continued to be occupied during the early Neolithic.

In this article we present the scientific objectives and results of the first two field-seasons in 2016 and 2017 of the Bam Archaeological Mission (BAM), a new Iranian-French joint field research project in the Bam-Narmashir Region, Kerman. During these two field-seasons, we surveyed this region and recorded about 250 sites mostly dating from the Palaeolithic period to the Iron Age. One of the most significant results from this survey is the discovery of two substantial settlements, one dating to the Neolithic period and the other one relating to the fourth millennium BCE Aliabad archaeological culture. These settlements are probably among the highest concentrations of sites dating to these periods reported so far from the south-eastern Iranian Plateau. In 2017, we also resumed excavation at the Neolithic site of Tell-e Atashi. We opened test-trenches at various locations at this site as well as a new stratigraphic trench near the excavation that had been opened in 2008. With new radiocarbon dates, we were able to confirm that at least a large part of the occupation levels at Tell-e Atashi dates to between the second half of the sixth and the middle of the fifth millennia BCE. This fieldwork also made it clear that this site is aceramic, a configuration that stands in contrast to the typical sixth and fifth millennia BCE archaeological sites in Iran. The aggregate of this fieldwork produced new data which have confirmed the unique nature of Tell-e Atashi and the Bam-Narmashir Region as well as their significance for the understanding of the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods in the Indo-Iranian Borderlands.

The SOJAS (South-of-Jiroft Archaeological Survey) Project aims to find the relations between the Jiroft Region and the shores of the Persian Gulf by investigating settlements, routes and natural resources in the plains and valleys located south of Jiroft, within the limits of the province of Kerman. Altogether, 209 archaeological sites have been discovered during the seasons of 2015–2018. These are located in several survey zones, among which the plains of Boluk and Faryab are the most prominent. Furthermore, the Varamin strip of the Middle Halil Rud Valley and the Lower Halil Rud Valley proved to be important settlement zones. Large-scale occupation in the region occurred in the Early and Middle Chalcolithic periods, with a first marked increasing in the Late Chalcolithic. During the Early Bronze Age, dense settlement patterns developed in almost all parts of the region. Several sites seem to be related to the procurement and exchange of chlorite artefacts. Of special importance is a probable settlement of miners in the Bagh-e Borj Mountains; an area where natural chlorite outcrops are most abundant. The end of the Early Bronze Age is characterized by a collapse of the settlement systems. Only very few sites existed during the 2nd millennium and the first half of the 1st millennium BCE. A full-scale re-occupation of the entire region occurred during the Achaemenid period. This trend continued into the Arsacid period, when the number of sites was doubled compared to the previous period. This period yielded the largest number of sites in the region. A dense occupation continued during the Sasanian and the Early Islamic to Seljuk periods. After the Seljuk period, a second settlement collapse took place, which left the region with only sparse occupation until modern times, when cities and villages in the region expanded as a consequence of agricultural intensification.

Tepe Qela Gap (also known as Ghala Gap ) in Azna: Lurestan, was excavated in 2009 aiming to establish the chronological sequence for the Azna Plain located eastern of Central Zagros, which had been scarcely  studied archaeologically until now. Considering the ecological diversity surrounding the plain, Tepe Qela Gap seems to have been an ideal place for the settlement of permanent villages but could also be suitable for nomadic and semi-nomadic people. The archaeozoological study of a large faunal assemblage, approximately 6500 items from this site, has provided evidence on the evolution of the subsistence economy of the site during various periods of occupation. The faunal spectra of Qela Gap from different periods, indicates that domesticated sheep/goat and cattle were the major source of animal resources. Among these domesticates it should be noted that cattle ratios are important and together with evidences of kill off patterns and osteological pathologies, we can hypothesise that these animals were used not only for food but also as draught animals, most probably, used for agricultural activities. This is a feature especially visible during the Bronze Age. The wild species, although not abundant (6%), were also part of the subsistence economy. Remains of wild sheep (Ovis orientalis), red deer (Cervus elaphus) or persian fallow deer (Dama mesopotamica), boar (Sus scrofa) and gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa) have been found and indicate that different ecosystems were exploited. Another important feature of the Qela Gap fauna is the discovery of a horse (Equus caballus) bone within the Neolithic Levels. In parallel to the archaeozoological analysis, the archaeobotanical studies are on-going and will provide a more complete picture of the subsistence economy of the site during the 5000 years of occupation.