نشریه پژوهه باستان سنجی
سال هشتم شماره 1 (پیاپی 15، بهار و تابستان 1401)

The hill called the ancient site of Shirtal is located 9 km southeast of Qazvin. According to samples that have been dated to carbon 14 (including two samples of coal and four samples of animal bone remains), this area is from the Bronze Age to the mid-Iron Age. In addition to the remains obtained from this area, such as habitats, pottery, statues and human remains, etc., a collection of animal bone remains has been obtained, among which can be the bone remains of goats, sheep, and gazelles.Named cows, deer, horses, and a small percentage of bone remains of dogs, rodents, and boars. Among the collection of animal bones in the Shirtal area, the highest percentage is the bone remains of a domestic cow (Bos Taurus), which can be identified by a variety of cutting effects, burn marks and fractures; Due to the high percentage of immature cattle in this complex, it seems that the driving force of this species has been used more in farms and accelerating the agricultural process. In the skeletal remains of Shirtel area, from the category of small ruminants, like other areas of Qazvin plain, domestic sheep (Ovis aries) has the highest percentage. In addition to the role of protein in the diet of human societies, the remains of the milkweed site appear to have used the bones of domestic animals to make bone tools. In this area, a number of bone remains of wild animals have been found, which shows the role of hunting in the livelihood economy of the people.

Rahmatbad is an important perhistoric site which located in Dasht-e Kamin in Pasargadae district, close to the Pulvar river basin in Fars province. Based on absolute C-14 dating, Rahmat-Abad is dated to the middle of the 8th millennium BC. This site is well known as one of the key perhistoric sites with a cultural sequence from pre pottery neolithic to Islamic era. 10 pieces of pottery sherds from the Neolithic period (formative Mushki and Mushki) and 5 pieces of pottery sherds from the Chalcolithic (early Middle Bakun) of Rahmatabad were investigated using petrography, XRD and XRF methods in order to compare the chemical compositions and the manufacturing progresses in pottery making during the Neolithic to Chalcolithic period. Chemical and mineralogical studies on the investigated potteries from different sequences of this site indicate a precise classification of using the same raw materials but through different techniques during the Neolithic to Chalcolithic period in Rahmat-Abad. Furthermore, the progress and development of the pottery manufacturing technique used in Rahmat-Abad might have been introduced as an important site in pioneering the pottery progressing during the Neolithic to early Middle Bakun period in Pulvar River Basin.

Under the influence of space-making factors and forces, human settlements have always been changing and evolving by influence of various internal and external processes. In the meanwhile, human settlements, as a part of geographical systems, which themselves are composed of related components, affected by their spatial location, have been interacted with or related to the environment. Among them, the role of environmental-natural factors is very prominent in the spatial organization of human settlements; Because the formation, continuation or abandonment of settlements is based on the use of water and soil resources and sometimes their durability and stability is in the presence or absence of natural resources. Environmental and natural contexts provide the necessary conditions for the establishment of human settlements, but some of them have more stable conditions than other factors. These parameters are slope, altitude, water resources, soil and land potential. The present study is a descriptive-analytical one that investigates the settlement patterns and distribution of Iron Age sites in the Middle Atrak basin. In order to achieve the research objectives, 6 natural factors including the site area, altitude, slope, of the site distances from water sources, communication routes, type of vegetation and soil have been selected as effective factors in establishing settlements and have been analyzed using statistical methods in GIS and SPSS software. Investigation of Pearson correlation coefficient on the area of sites with altitude factor is 0/480 and the type of soil where the sites are located is 0/490. These two figures are strong and positive and indicate a high relationship between the site area and these two factors. Relationship between the site areas with the distance from permanent water sources, communication paths and slop, the Pearson correlation coefficient is 0/830, 0/880 and 0/810 respectively. This figure shows the relationship of high, strong and inverse level of significance between area and water resources, land slope and communication path. Pearson correlation coefficient shows that the relationship between the area of the sites and vegetation is 0/389. This figure shows the average relationship. It seems that natural settings have had a great impact on the location, expansion and physical development of Iron Age settlements and the sites of this period have been formed in two parts of sedimentary plain and mountainous region. So that the Iron Age people have chosen a different patterns of living and settlement to adapt to the environment of the Atrak river basin. A very large group of sites is ones that have good access to pastures on the edge of the plain, are located on high slopes and have a small area, indicating that seasonal sites with dryland farming and livestock subsistence economy. The second group is three sites located on low slopes, at the bottom of the plain with rich sedimentary soils, next to communication routes and water sources, and their area is much larger than the first group and show that permanent villages with livestock and agriculture are. Finally, the third group is a site that is the largest area in the region and its location in a strategic area and on the communication route, which controls two plains and the possibility of a central area such as the city, is not far from the mind.

Over the past few decades, several excavations have been carried out in the Bronze Age sites of southeastern Iran, and the results of these studies have led to the compilation of a chronology of the region with a focus on the Shahr-i Sokhta. So far, most of the prehistoric research in Sistan has focused on the Shahr-i Sokhta, while in the archaeological survey in Sistan, there are more than 900 contemporary sites with the Shahr-i Sokhta in the southern plain of Sistan. To better understand of the cultures of Sistan in Bronze Age, some of the related-settlement to the Shahr-i Sokhta needs to be studied carefully. Although numerous archaeological and interdisciplinary studies have been conducted on the cultural finds of the Shahr-i Sokhta, there are still major problems in the absolute chronology of the region. Perhaps the main reason for this is the limitation of archaeological excavations and researches, the unpublished or incomplete publication of some excavation results and studies, and the lack of absolute dating to obtain an accurate chronology. Extensive and main archeological researches of Sistan in the past focused on Shahr-i Sokhta and today it is considered as the main basis of the chronology of the region. Fortunately, the research done by the author and other colleagues from the Department of Archeology of Zabol University in the related settlements of Shahr-i Sokhta has been able to help to some extent to analyze biological patterns and economic and social status and cultural interactions in the region. Due to the existing problems in recognizing the cultural features of the Bronze Age of Sistan plain and also educating the students of the Department of Archeology of Zabol University, Tape Talebkhan was excavated. One of the main objectives of the fifth season in this site was stratigraphy and relative and absolute dating. During the excavation, six settlement phases were identified, of which only four phases of architecture, including brick walls with right-angled spaces and a circular heated structure was obtained. Apart from architecture, other findings include pottery, human and animal figures, counting objects, metal, animal bones, and botanical remains. In this article, an attempt is made to analyze the chronology of this area by analyzing cultural materials, especially pottery obtained from the excavation of this site and using the results of carbon 14. Considering the importance of the subject, the most important questions of this research are: What was the settlement sequence of Tape Taleb Khan? And what cultural periods does the region coincide with? What is the start and end date of the settlement in this site using the relative comparison of pottery and C14? And how can the C14 results of this site be used to explain the challenges in the chronology of the region? According to the questions raised, in this article, first the site will be introduced and its chronological sequence will be presented, then by comparing clay samples to relative chronology and cultural relations with other sites, and finally while presenting the results of C14 samples of this site, the challenges in the chronology of the region have been studied. For the absolute dating of the cultural deposits of Taleb Khan, 4 samples of charcoal were sent to the laboratory of the University of Oxford, the results of which show that this area was established around 2500 BC and continued until about 2300 BCE. Since the pottery finds from this site have many similarities to phases 1 and 0 of the Shahr-i Sokhta, it seems that the date is probably older than previously thought, between 2300 and 2200 BC should be considered for the end of the Shahr-i Sokhta settlement. At this time, important settlements such as Shahr-i Sokhta, Graziani and Talebkhan are abandoned.

Hats are used to protect the head and for safety or fashion in different cultures and nations. Identifying the fabric, designs, and sewing the hat can give us good information about the history of fashion in different nations. In this study, five hats belonging to the Tavichi family in Italy were investigated by radiography. The design and construction, morphology, internal structure and damaged regions have been considered. Image processing algorithms can increase the quality of radiography images. In this research, total variation (TV) and shape from shading (SFS) algorithms have been used to enhance the quality of the images. The TV method is based on minimizing the changes and is used to eliminate noise in images. In the 3D method, a 3D image is created from a 2D image based on the light reflected. The results show that radiography testing is an effective method for identifying the structure of old hats and can show the internal structure and connections of the components without splitting the fabric. The processed images also have better contrast and can be used to identify components and structures. The radiography and restoration experts have evaluated the reconstructed images. They have confirmed the effectiveness of processing methods in extracting efficient information from radiographs. Also, the profile lines of the images show that the contrast changes in the reconstructed images are greater than the original radiographs, and the components of the reconstructed images are clearer.

The beginning of settlement in the Silveh River Basin dates back to the Neolithic period and then the Late Chalcolithic period. With the end of the sixth millennium and the beginning of the fifth millennium BC, the region has been densely populated by human societies. The study of the settlement model helps to study the formation of ancient sites in the environmental context. In fact, the impact of environmental factors on the formation of settlements cannot be ignored. The Chalcolithic sites represent the Dalma Period in the northwest. The study of the early Chalcolithic pottery traditions in Silveh River Basin indicates cultural relations with other regions of northwestern Iran and the Central Zagros from one hand and indicates cultural relations with northern Mesopotamia, Azerbaijan and eastern Anatolia in the Early Chalcolithic period on the other hand. By conducting an archaeological study of Silveh region and analyzing the archaeological data of the settlements in it, a new perspective has emerged in the archaeological studies of the region and Piranshahr. In this way, the study and analysis of cultural materials obtained from the region can partially explain the relative chronology of cultural periods in the region.

Space Syntax is a structuralist research approach to architecture that makes it possible to understand and interpret the social organization in built environments by studying the phenotype (structure) and understanding the genotype (function). The architectural remains from the past are important indicators in archaeological sites and the most significant findings in applying the space syntax approach. There is little information on the extent to which prehistoric buildings are capable of providing spatial configuration and social organization or the extent to which the space syntax approach can identify, perceive and interpret them in prehistoric and early historic structures and sites. Previous studies, with a few exceptions, have considered the use of the space syntax approach not in prehistoric houses or population areas but the later and contemporary eras. The present paper aims to use the space syntax method, along with observation tools, field studies, documentary investigations, and A-GRAPH and Depth Map software to perform an analytical comparison of spatial configuration and social organization in buildings1 (II and III periods) and 20 (IV period) of Shahr-i-Sokhta. The study examines the indicators of Depth, Relative Asymmetry, Integration, Control Value, and Space Type in terms of communication, access, privacy, and publicity to answer the following two questions: 1. what are the differences in the pattern of spatial configuration in buildings 1 and 20 of Shahr-i-Sokhta? 2. What is the relationship between their spatial configuration and social organization? The analytical-comparative study of buildings 1 and 20 of Shahr-i-Sokhta clearly shows that building 1 has more depth and consequently a higher degree of privacy, which can belong to the aristocrats or a person with high social status. However, building 20 has more movement, integration, and connectivity; thus, it cannot be considered only a completely private building, and it may have been a more public building.

Each year a large number of historical building are destroyed by seismic events. Assessment of seismic vulnerability of heritage buildings has an important role on their conservation process. Identifying the mechanical characteristics of the materials used in constructions is one of the most important steps in seismic assessment, which is determined through destructive and semi-destructive tests. Due to the fact that destructive testing on heritage buildings is considered as kind of damage, Italian researchers have proposed a qualitative method called the masonry quality index (MQI) to estimate the mechanical properties of heritage building materials. In this article, the function of mentioned method has been used to estimate the compressive strength and modulus of elasticity of building materials in Nafisi historical house in Tabriz and the validation of the results has been compared with the results of double flat jack test. According to the comparison of the obtained results, the minimum and maximum compressive strength obtained by the MQI method in the range 3.89 and 2.29 MPa, while the compressive strength obtained by the flat jack test was in the range of 1.13 - 0.81 Mpa. Which indicates a high contrast. Also, the minimum and maximum values ​​of modulus of elasticity calculated by the masonry quality index (MQI) method are in the range between 1628.5 - 1137.06 MPa, which is compared with the results obtained by the double flat jack test between 1182.06 – 1382.27 MPa, showed a good agreement with each other. According to the results of compressive strength, it is necessary more studies are needed to apply the MQI (masonry quality index) method on native heritage buildings. It seems that in case of further studies, the method of masonry quality index can be adjusted appropriately with native heritage buildings and it can be used as a fast and safe method to estimate the mechanical properties of building materials.

X-ray fluorescence (XRF) is an analytical technique that uses the interaction of X-rays with a substance to determine the type of element in that compound. Cultural heritage is one of the branches that uses this method in confirming the narrative information of the historical period and authenticity and restoration. In the present analysis, 20 coins in the museum of Bu Ali Sina Tomb in Hamedan were tested using a portable XRF device made by Bruker company. This research was conducted with the aim of getting acquainted with coin minting techniques and confirming the historical information of Khosrow Parviz era. The study of the trace elements revealed in the results of the silver coins test of the Bu Ali Museum in Hamedan shows that 1: Using cupellation and smelting methods, the coins were minted according to the pattern of the central government in the mints. In the beginning years of the war and the peak of Khosrow Parviz's rule, around 620 AD, the percentage of silver reached its highest level. Also, due to the low percentage of gold (less than one) in the analysis of these coins, their extraction from cerrosite mines (PbCO3) is proven.

Mortars are an integral part in the construction of historical and even modern buildings. They are used in different parts of the building, such as mortar between bricks and stones, floor mortar, surface coating mortar and other parts of the building, so it is used to create a quality and stable building. Over time, efforts should be made to improve the quality of mortars and materials. The properties of gypsum mortars are influenced by the three main factors of mine type, baking method and the use of additives. For this reason, the purpose of this research is to investigate these factors. The results of the studies showed that in different mines and even different parts of the same mine, it is effective in creating differences in the properties of gypsum mortar; For example, in different mines, due to the conditions of the mine, such as the pressure on the gypsum crystals or the presence of impurities in the mine, crystals with different characteristics will be created. How to burn and prepare gypsum is also effective in determining the properties of these types of mortars. For example, baking gypsum at a temperature of 120 to 180 degrees Celsius will produce beta hemihydrate gypsum. Additives also affect the properties of plaster in different parts, which can include resistance effects (compressive, tensile and abrasion resistance), setting time and resistance to moisture; For example, it is magnesium oxide and aluminosilicates, each of which increases the compressive strength and setting time in plaster mortar.

Paleoclimate research is conducted in a variety of ways. From the extraction of ice cores at the poles to the study of tree rings, they can produce useful information about past climatic conditions. The resolution of these studies is of great importance in archaeological and historical analysis. Also, conducting some interdisciplinary studies such as archaeobotany, zooarchaeology and environmental sedimentology in archaeological sites is complementary to paleoclimate research. The information obtained by such studies, together with absolute datings, is able to show climatic events (on a century scale) and their environmental effects.