مجله مطالعات باستان شناسی
سال سیزدهم شماره 2 (پیاپی 26، تابستان 1400)

Along the foothills of the Marvdasht plain, a significant number of rock-cut burial monuments have been made during the Achaemenid to early Islamic period. These burials are made in various forms which with the exception of the royal tombs and some samples with the middle persian inscription, the chronology of the rest of the samples is in dispute. By performing the archaeological field survey with the aim of determination the  funeral monuments attributable to the post-Achaemenid period, the authors, in addition to accurately describing the structural description of such samples, has thoroughly analyzed all the cited chronological evidence. These cited evidence are: Structural and spatial patterns, studying the stone-cutting tools, decorations, surveying the peripheral boundary within a radius of about 1 km in order to place the monuments in the relevant archaeological context, as well as assisting negative reasoning  Instead of positive reasoning. In negative reasoning, In order to prove the chronology, instead of presenting positive evidence in favor of post-Achaemenidchronology, we present reasons that negate the Achaemenid and Sassanid chronology. This article deals only with the southeastern half of the plain, the southern and western foothills of Rahmat Mountain, and in another article we will address the northeast half of the plain. Based on the surveys conducted in line with the present study, the remains of the rock-cut burials in the eastern half of the Marvdasht plain are located without exception on the southern and western slopes of Rahmat Mountain. These studies have also shown that the burial complexes of Tang-e Zendan, Akhor-e Rostam, North Barzan and Laneh Tavous can most likely be dated to the post-Achaemenid period. In an interpretive and general conclusion, it can be argued that the rock-cut burials that can be dated to the post-Achaemenid period in the Marvdasht plain, like any other period or place, imprimis considered as a type of dignitizad burial which were made and used for members of powerful families in the highest level of social power pyramid. Monuments that on the one hand increased credibility, legitimacy and power of mentioned families among the indigenous population and other regional powers. On the other hand, these evidence were considered as a valid document for aristocrats dynastic descendants to acquire and maintain dominion over their ancestral estates. In this way, they could continue to dominate the ancestral property in the future.

Qalʻeh Geli Kaj site, located in 50 km northeast of Qom, with an area of ​​about seven hectares, is one of the most important settlements in the historical period of Qom region. This site, which consists of two parts of the central castle and the remains of the settlement around it, is of special importance in archaeological studies and the history of Iranian architecture in terms of architectural features and various techniques of arch construction. Despite the scattered research that has been done about this site, there are still various questions about the dating, use and also the factors influencing the formation, development and abandonment of this place. The present study aims to answer the existing questions and ambiguities by using the archaeological evidence obtained from the superficial survey of the site and studying the written historical and geographical sources. Therefore, the method used in this research is based on historical analysis and data collection based on field and documentary studies. According to the results, the location of Qalʻeh Geli Kaj, next to one of the sub-branches of the Silk Road (Isfahan to Rey road) and the need to provide the people’s own and financial security of commercial caravans, have been among the main factors of this site’s formation and development. In fact, the initial nucleus of Qalʻeh Geli in the Parthian period was formed as a facility related to the communication road around it, and during the Sassanid period, as a result of the expansion of trade relations, it became a small town. With the arrival of Islam in Iran and following the recession of economic activities, living in Qalʻeh Geli also declined for several centuries; but after the coming to power of the Seljuks and re-advert to trade affairs, with the reconstruction of the architectural structures of Qalʻeh Geli and the construction of a stone caravanserai on its southeastern side, this town was rebuilt. The Seljuk settlement of Qalʻeh Geli is not the last stage of settlement in there and according to archeological evidence, it was also used during the Ilkhanid and Safavid periods; but it has never regained its previous glory. Finally, with the construction of a new communication road between Qom and Tehran in 1882 AD Qalʻeh Geli was also abandoned.

What we call Islamic studies today stems from orientalism, which in recent centuries has become a field of scientifically developed studies. Orientalism is Christians west dates back to the founding of the council of the Church of Vienna in 1312AD, establishing a chair for Arabic, Greek, Hebrew and syriac in the schools of Paris, Oxford, Bologna and Salamanca. Orientalists were also mostly biblical scholars, Semitic students, Islamologists, or Chinese scholars. However, some scholars believe that orientalism dates back to the early 11th century. Other associate the beginning of orientalism with the translation of Quran into Latin for the first time. In the twentieth century, orientalism entered a new phase, called Islamic studies. Islamic studies is a bridge from orientalism to religious studies in which scholars seek to engage in more dialogue in religious studies by emphasizing new perspectives. Among the research, the coexistence of Muslims and Christians in Andalusia is an issue that has been addressed. In this study, researcher, faced with the question of what condition have created the coexistence of Muslims and Christians studies? In addition, what has been the process of formation of Islamic studies according to the created fields? In this study, question is that the coexistence of Muslims and Christians in Andalusia was able to create evangelical, economic and scientific fields of Islamic studies. The research method is descriptive- analytical, and library method collect data. The results of this study indicate that after the conquest of Spain, relations between Muslims and Christians were natural and non-hostile. These relations continued in the following centuries, they chose Arabic as their scientific and cultural language. With the spread of Islam in Andalusia, the formation of Islamic civilization, the flourishing of the economy and dominance of Muslim culture and literature evangelical, economic and scientific grounds were provided for the knowledge of Muslims. After the beginning of the reconqueste movement by Christians and the conquest Islamic cities, their attention to Muslim science, technology and culture was aroused. In order to access the scientific treasures that existed in Islamic libraries, the movement to translate Arabic books began. The beginning of the translation movement in Andalusia established Islamic studies. Its transmission by scholars who flocked to Spain, formed all over Europe spread Islamic studies in Europe.

The eastern side of Central Zagros is one of the most important areas in the Neolithic development, which has remained unknown in terms of its common cultural tradition as requires more in detail studies. Among these unknowns, “Malayer Plain”  is associated with the effects of the “Late Neolithic” period Traditions. In terms of role and color, this is a part of the 6th Millennium B.C., which due to the evolution of Pottery-making can be distinguished from the earlier periods. One of the most important pottery traditions is Sarab-Style, which is a pivot point to the recognition of the Late Neolithic of Central Zagros. This type of pottery has been identified along the eastern boundaries of Central Zagros on Malayer plain. This cultural region is considered as a blind spot of Neolithic studies due to the lack of question-oriented studies. The present research is based on the of Trench I & II excavation of the Tappeh Posht-e Forodgah studying the presence of Late Neolithic tradition  on the Malayer plain, answering the question: What are the common Neolithic cultures of the Malayer Plain and by which  common Late Neolithic cultural traditions of the Central Zagros has affected? In order to analyze the stratigraphy of the settlements formed at the Tappeh Posht-e Forodgah, a complete view of the Neolithic sequence on the eastern boundaries of Central Zagros, an excavation of the Posht-e Forodgah Site was carried out. How that two traditions of pottery or domestic or non-domestic potteries were common in this region simultanously; Eventually, the impact of the Late Neolithic period and common cultural traditions of Kermanshah plain (Segabi, Syahbid and Sarab) and Lurestan (Qelagap) on the Malayer Plain have been attested.

Citation of all historical texts to the construction of "the largest ever-made brick vault in the Islamic world" by Tajeddin Alishah Jilani, the minister of Sultan Mohammad Khodabandeh Oljaito in the 8th century AH, have always led historians and scholars of architecture to attribute the brick massive U-shaped monument in the center of the historical context of Tabriz to Alishah, Ilkhanid minister. This U-shaped giant vault is mostly considered as the mouth of the same arch, which collapsed shortly due to the haste in the process of its construction in the Ilkhanid period. While new research findings pave the way for new horizons around the identity of the architecture and the use of the contemporary remains of this huge building attributed to the Arch of Alishah. Accordingly, the main question of this leading research will be to determine the architectural relationship of this building with the building constructed in the Ilkhanid Period. If it is assumed that there are two completely distinct phases of architecture, using the dating technique through thermoluminescence method, on the bricks of this huge structure on the basis that brick is one of the desirable building materials for the absolute dating of historical buildings by thermoluminescence method in recent years, there is a time difference of at least two centuries in this existing structure. This indicates the fact that there is no connection between the remains of the arch attributed to the Arch of Alishah and the vault created in the Ilkhanid Period. According to the architectural evidence and conducted studies, what is certain is that modern remains attributed to Alishah Jilani were created about two centuries after the Ilkhanid Period, and the existing U-shaped brick monument is a later construction phase used to block, complete and convert the land use of the remains of the Ilkhanid building of the northern part that have been created on its southern side; so, there is no connection between the existing U-shaped architectural monument and the famous Alishah Arch.

Ideology and worldview of societies have noticeable impact on artistic arrays formation.  In Islamic Art, Plant motifs have a special place and they have a large part of the ornamentation. Most of these motifs have symbolic meanings in religious places. Ancient Iranian considered these motifs to be mythological and sacred. These motifs have continued in the Islamic period. Āl-e Būya rise to power alongside Islamic-Shiite ideas witnesses the rise and fall of Sassanian thought in the art of this period. The artwork created in this context reflects the beliefs of the pre-culture era which have become symbolic. Cognitive elements that have formed these insights could be identified by using the iconology method and social study in researches at the same time. The research study seeks to express the concepts hidden in the plant motifs used in the art of the Āl-e Būya era, and the influence of the pre-Islamic thought and art to identify the religious beliefs of this period. The main question of the research is about the quiddity and essence of technical and visual similarities and differences of floral images in the art of early Islam and pre-Islamic art. The question are as follows: what are the most important motifs and subjects transferred from the paintings of the Sassanid period to the architectural works of Āl-e Būya mosque? What factors have led to the transfer of symbols from the Sassanid period to the Āl-e Būya era? The aim of this research is to study and represent Iranian symbols in the emergence of motifs and their application in Islamic art. This article has been done by Descriptive-analytical with a semiotic approach has examined the process of the formation of Islamic motifs. The results indicate that the motifs used in the ornamentation of the Islamic period in Āl-e Būya mosques are influenced by the role of the Sassanid themes so that we can see Iranian attitudes and beliefs in the formation of Plant-Islamic paintings of these mosques. Along with this influence, the formation of Islamic culture has created abstract motifs by a Muslim artist.

The city and province of Kerman has always been of special importance due to its many economic and commercial opportunities, in addition to which it has had a high political position for the Qajar rulers; For these reasons, the mint has been active for a long time until 1878 AD. It was established in this city that during the period of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar (1847-1895 AD) many silver qirans were written between the years 1848-1849, 1852-1855, 1860, 1863-1867, 1869-1871, 1873, 1875-1876, and 1878 AD. Had beaten. The coinage system of the Naseri period, although nominally following the system of Tehran, but in practice each city had an autonomous military and the coins of most cities were minted with different amounts of silver purity. These issues raise two questions for the Kerman Mint: 1- What is the purity of the main elements (silver, copper, iron, gold, and lead) of the coins minted in Kerman and how has it changed? 2- What is the purity of silver coins of Kerman city, in the position of important economic city, in comparison with other important cities of Iran, such as Mashhad, Tabriz, Tehran, Isfahan, and Shiraz? Therefore, in order to answer these questions, elemental analysis of coins of this period using PIXE method due to its non-destructiveness, speed and high accuracy, became the main basis of this research. In this study, 23 coins in 19 different dates and 4 coins were analyzed to measure the validity of the results and analyzes, which resulted in a trend of changes in the purity of silver on average in three time periods between 1848-1855 AD. He explained 90.09%, 1860-1871 AD 86.53%, 1873-1878 AD 84.17%, and in the whole multiplication period 87.16%, and its position in terms of the purity of silver in front of Mashhad mints (84%), Tabriz (82%), Tehran (90%), Isfahan (84%), and Shiraz (90%). Also, valuable information was obtained on the type of silver mines used, namely the Cerussite mines and how the coins were minted with copper and iron metals.

According to archeological studies, there are a number of cemeteries in the county of Harsin, which on their surface there are bas reliefs and carved stones from the historical period that indicate the importance of some cemeteries in the region in terms of stone carvings.The frequency of access to the limestone of the mountains in the area, such as the hillside of Bisotun Mountain, it has led us to encounter bas relief stone and carved stones in the Sassanian period, which it can be found in stone buildings, bridges and even the grave stones of some cemeteries in the area can be seen.Therefore, there are shaved stones with carved signs on some of the grave stones of the cemeteries, that by studying them carefully, can be clarified some archeological issues and problems about the shaved stone and stone motifs. there are shaved stone on the surface of Chehr, Qeysavand, Azizabad and Shams Abad cemeteries in the west of Harsin county and Imamzadeh Mehdi in Harsin that have not been studied. In this article, using the library-field research method, the following questions were asked: 1- What are the cut stone obtained from the cemeteries of Harsin region? 2- What can the stone finds of these cemeteries have to do with Sassanid cut stones in places such as the foothills of Bisotun Mountain or other Sassanid structures in the region? Archaeological studies have shown that on some of these cemeteries, special gravestones such as shaved stones in various forms with the signature of carvings, trunks of stone columns along with roof eaves belonging to the Sassanid period and stone columns is obtained. These limestone finds have a cutting style and raw material similar to the Sassanid structures of the region.Therefore, their conversion to the grave stone was a secondary use of the later Islamic period.

The work has tried to study the structural propinquity of Middle Chalcolithic potteries in Chaharmahal va Bakhtiari, which, in terms of appearance, are very similar to those of Khuzestan and Fars, by using laboratory studies. The pottery with well- firing was made in the color range of  buff, cream, buff-green, light green and less frequently orange wares. Characteristic of these ceramics is the paste which tends to be buff or its different shades. Sand and fine white particles were used as temper. The painted type is seen in buff, creamy or greenish creamy. The designs generally include geometric motifs represented mainly by parallel bands and lines, undulating lines, hanging triangles, checkerboard patterns, ladders and dot motifs. For the provenance of these types of pottery, the use of laboratory methods seemed necessary to find out whether this pottery is native or has entered to area by the nomads. We can largely determine the interactions of the communities on the Iranian plateau during the Middle Chalcolithic. For this purpose, it employs a combination of field, library and laboratory methods. 32 pieces of pottery, collected from the surface of the Middle Chalcolithic sites of Chaharmahal va Bakhtiari, Khuzestan and Fars, were analyzed by performing petrographic and ICP-OES analysis. After the analysis and multiplicity compering between Chaharmahal va Bakhtiari samples and similar structural samples, it was concluded that specimens of Khuzestan and Fars are naturally produced in the same regions as the origin of the Susa and Bakun pottery, respectively. But the samples of Chaharmahal va Bakhtiari have been produced in itself, the Chaharmahal va Bakhtiari areas, despite the apparent technical similarities with the neighboring regions. In fact, the production of pottery, is made by the influence of neighboring cultures, but, this effect was due to the transferring of potters to the area or the transferring of the technology of making pottery due to the nomad movements

The most important area that is directly related to the civilization of the Sind and the southern coastal countries of the Persian Gulf is the Makkoran. These three cultural areas have many cultural commonalities, especially in the third millennium BC. One of the cultural commonalities of material and spiritual expression is the burial in this period, which shows the same cultural identity in this part of the world. Death is the simplest reality of life, and the actions performed during burial a kind of concern for the fate of the dead. Burial is the ritual of separation from one world to another, and burial is a kind of commitment to the deceased as a member of society. Burial and related traditions are a reflection of the spiritual and ritual aspects of human cultures. Common similarities can be found among different cultures. One of the centers where these commonalities can be found is Dembukuh Cemetery. This cemetery Dambe Kouh is the largest cemetery and area that has been discovered in the southwestern tip of Iran. The area from the third millennium BC It has been established periodically until the Islamic period. The site should have close interactions with the cultural areas around it, especially the Sind Civilization, due to the data obtained from it. The methodology of this research is descriptive-analytical and comparative and the basic and basic data required are obtained through field studies that include prospecting and surface-level surveys. The overall result is a homogeneous appearance of graves, a few graves and the use of graves in later periods. The most important area that is directly related to the civilization of the Sind and the southern coastal countries of the Persian Gulf is the Makkoran. These three cultural areas have many cultural commonalities, especially in the third millennium BC. One of the cultural commonalities of material and spiritual expression is the burial in this period, which shows the same cultural identity in this part of the world

Archaeologically, Southeastern Iran has been hypothesized as one of the most important centers for the production and export of marble artifacts during the Bronze Age Near East. The characterization of the marbles from this region is necessary for identifying and rethinking the source of craft products and trade in the prehistoric societies of the cultural areas of Sindh and Mesopotamia, On the other hand, accurate knowledge of the type of stone with the recorded scientific words to introduce them is an important step in investigating the relationship between marble artifacts and geological tectonics and also the origin, in order to study morphology and preparation process of raw material and production of marble containers in Jiroft Plain, field and morphological studies using petrography, XRPD and SEM-EDX methods have been conducted to study samples of South Konar Sandal Hill and confiscated works. The question of this article is about the structure of raw materials for the production of marble artifacts in Jiroft Plain and its relation with the tectonic domain of the field. In this regard, seven ancient samples, two samples of Galoumaran Marble Mine and Qom Limestone Formation, and twelve samples of scattered rough rocks along the Halil River and Shur River near the mentioned ancient hills have been studied. After examining the results of petrography and the similarity of ancient samples, studied examples obtained from the cultural layers of South Konar Sandal Hill for further study using the XRPD analysis and the confiscated samples - regarding the different characteristics of the other ancient samples in this paper - were selected for further study using the SEM-EDX analysis. The result of this research is the classification of marble species being commonly referred to archaeological studies and the introduction of the aragonite structure of marble containers in the southeast of Iran - extracted from sedimentary formations of springs. Moreover, due to the agreement between the results of this research and the geological map of Jiroft Plain and the presence of homogeneous rocks that can be generalized to ancient samples, localization of the preparation process of raw material is suggested.

Burial traditions have not been formed all at once and in the long term numerous factors and variables have played a role in its formation and continuation or obsolescence. Among these factors, we can mention the influence and contacts made between different cultures, and in the meantime, Zoroastrian culture can not be an exception to this rule and it can be said that the burial practice in the Zoroastrian religion (Ossuary) probably has a long history among different ethnic groups and nations, and these cultures were influential in adopting the burial practice (Ossuary) in the Zoroastrian religion. Similar to the burial practice (Ossuary) in the Zoroastrian religion, it has been found in the Iranian plate and Levant and Central Asian in the Epipaleolithic period to the late Bronze Age. Therefore, the aim of this research is to evaluate the relationship between the secondary burial practice during the Epipaleolithic period and the time of the advent of Zoroastrian religion and its effect on the burial method in Zoroastrianism. Accordingly, the present research seeks to answer the following questions: How early on and how did the burial data of archaeology come from? And what is the connection between the method of the second burial and burial in Zoroastrianism?. The method of this research is descriptive-analytical, based on archaeological reports. In the present study, information was obtained from archaeological reports and published articles about various sites of Iran's plateau and Levant and Central Asia, of which secondary burials have been discovered. The philosophy of doing this burial method could be different or a reason other than respect for nature, and these secondary burials were probably carried out by non-sedentry groups that used permanent sites for burial and probably died somewhere outside the facility, and the possibility of transferring bodies to There were no grounds for burial, so the deceased were abandoned in the same place, and later, after the loss of soft tissues, the bones were collected and buried in the graves in the site

So far, many researches have been done about clergy, their hierarchy, role and position in the Sassanid era and there is considerable information about them. Most of this awareness comes from textual evidence, including religious and non-religious books. The only archaeological evidence related to this important stratum of the society of this period is the seals, the seals impression and also the reliefs of Kartir. The reliefs of Kartir, due to their predominance of individuality, do not help us much in understanding the role and position of this class in the Sassanid period, but the second group, the seals and, seals impression discovered belonging to the Sassanid period, is a first-hand source for studying this important and influential group. Although many of these seals, in particular the seals that were discovered on the Takht-e Soleyman, were introduced by scholars as Magi seals, only a small part of them are based on inscriptions into this stratum. This means that only a small part of them clearly have the phrase magician or priest. In the present study, this seals have been studied and in fact, they have been selected from all the seals attributed to Magies. The motifs on these seals are very diverse and include almost all the motifs on the seals of the Sassanid period, including human, animal, plant, symbolic and monogram. In this study, with the iconographic approach, only animal motifs depicted on Magi's inscriptions are inscribed. For this purpose, after collecting the desired designs from various reports - which are generally in the form of catalogs and introducing seals - and providing a brief description, they were analyzed based on Zoroastrian texts. This article has reached the general conclusion that there are no exclusive and special motifs of Moghan in painting, and this group has followed the same taste and general aesthetics

In archaeological studies of the region of Southwest Asia, during the period from the late fourth millennium BC to the beginning of the Iron Age (second half of the second millennium BC), phenomena such as the growth of settlements in terms of area and population, the emergence of early cities, Trans-regional trade, the formation of government institutions, the emergence and spread of gray and black pottery, extensive changes in technology and the dramatic development of the smelting industry and the use of bronze tools were identified. In this process, an extensive communication network aimed at controlling trade routes and access to raw materials across the plateau by land and sea connected many areas. Economically, in this era, trans-regional trade was established, and communities were connected thousands of miles away from home to obtain the resources they needed. Bronze Age cultures are well known in the most part of Iran but Khorasan is an except and the data are rare and insufficient. Moreover, information about chronology, and distribution of sites during different periods of prehistoric times in different parts of them is very limited. In this research, 38 sites from the Bronze Age period have been studied. These sites were identified in the form of archaeological surveys of the Upper and Middle Atrak during the last decade. This study was done using descriptive-analytic method. For data analysis, GIS and SPSS software, and Correlation and Cluster analysis methods were used. Settlement pattern in the Upper and Middle Atrak basin is similar. It consists of two-level models with large site and a number of small sites around it. The results of this study indicate that due to the lack of water resources in the region, access to the constant water resources is the most important factor in shaping the Bronze age Settlemens. Most sites are also formed during the Early Bronze Age, and we are faced a decrease in the number of sites in the Middle and Late Bronze Age.

A joint program by the University of Tehran and the University of Leicester carried out a first season of archaeological exploration of Zoroastrian societies in Maybod, Yazd province during May 2016 for two weeks. Historical archaeology is still in its infancy in Iran. Due to extensive modernization vast amounts of data have been lost and therefore most research into the recent past can be considered as salvage program.  The aim of this research is to explore some aspects of the social history and ritual activities of the last communities of Zoroastrian societies of Yazd province based on the analysis of architectural layout, archaeological survey of the contemporary villages, interview, and historical records. Here we represent the preliminary report of the survey results of Mazra’e Kalantar and Asr’ Abad villages. In this paper we have clarified the architectural patterns and the typology of buildings of Zoroastrian communities. We have analyzed two different buildings types of religious and domestic spaces of Mazra’e Kalantar and Asr’ Abad villages. The second part of this paper is focused on the ethnographic results in order to achieve a holistic understanding of life experience based on the historical knowledge of local people.