نشریه پیام باستان شناس
پیاپی 27 (پاییز و زمستان 1401)

Whenever researchers come across a new point concerning Sassanian history, succeed in deciphering an inscription, or are to discover and understand a new cultural work, they invariably turn to Sassanian relief carvings, which have long been famous and considered valuable sources of the Sassanian period. Precious reliefs, which, as authentic criteria, can serve to measure documents obtained from historical and archaeological studies, giving rise to important discoveries and results, represent a large portion of the Sassanian’s arts, cultural and political, and religious practices. Since the rise of the Sassanid dynasty is important in the process of Iran's history, it is necessary to clarify the exact status of archaeological findings - especially its rock reliefs-and be removed their historical content from any ambiguity and darkness. Studies show that (1) Donor of the diadem of kingship in Ardashir Babakan’s relief at Naqsh-i Rajab of Fars no one except Ahuramazda. Attributing this character to a high priest or any other mortal character has no scientific basis or rationale; (2) The marriage of Ardashir Babakan with the fifth Ardavan’s daughter and the Birth of Shapur as a result of this marriage, was false and derived from a folk legend.

During the archeological studies of the Islamic sites of Hamedan Plain in 2019, the Bozenjerd site was investigated by the authors for the first time. One of the important indicators in understanding the cultures of the past is the study and analysis of pottery work in ancient sites, which plays an important role in clarifying the cultural structure of settlement centers. Considering the influence of the pottery traditions of the Hamedan plain and Bozenjerd site, one of the important pottery centers of the Islamic period, this research, has tried to classify, typology, and chronology of the types of glazed pottery of this area. This research has been done by studying the archeological data obtained from the investigations of modern authors. The general goals are to know the local types of pottery in the Bozenjerd site and to identify the cultural centers that influence the tradition of pottery in this Islamic area. The research method is descriptive-analytical and information gathering is done in a documentary way, and also, the field findings of this area have been compared with other areas of the same horizon. The results show similarities between the pottery of Bozanjard, in terms of manufacturing and finishing techniques, with the neighboring sites such as Zolf Abad, Âveh, Aqkand, Soltanieh, Qorveh, Kangavar, Biston, and Borujard, which were located in the most important communication routes of the Hamedan plain. Besides, in terms of technical and artistic characteristics, the most important types of local pottery in this area are sgraffiato glazed vessels and vessels with multi-colored decorations on white glaze.

The city in the Islamic period, in terms of structure, was the continuation of Sassanid era urban planning, and its physical elements are mostly taken from the rich culture of Islam and indicate the Islamic civilization. Qazvin is one of the cities of the Islamic period, the core of which was formed during the Shapur rule, the Sassanid king, and gradually developed and expanded. This city, in terms of its special geographical location, has been the focus of various governments since the pre-Islam era, and its location on the east-west and north-south communication highways has guaranteed the survival of the social, political, and economic life of this city. Knowing the characteristics of such cities can be useful in gaining a deep and broad insight into the social and political history of Iran in the Islamic era. Historians of the Islamic era have examined the city of Qazvin from various aspects. In this article, an attempt has been made to study the characteristics of the urban context of Qazvin from the historical point of view and archaeological research, as well as the communication routes of this city with neighboring areas based on historical sources. The main question is to what extent the historical information corresponds to the features of this city. The results of this study and the field visit to the city show that the urban context of Qazvin is largely consistent with historical sources. The field surveys and studies carried out and their comparison with archaeological research showed that the city underwent many changes in the late Islamic era, in such a way that during the Qajar period, as well as in the Pahlavi period, the urban context was expanded and modern buildings were built in the city.

In the last few decades, the very rapid development of technologies has caused many and rapid changes in various aspects of human life, from architecture and social structure to clothing and food. Therefore, today there are few places and communities that have remained away from these changes. For this reason, it is very important to record and record the information available in such places that have preserved their traditional base to help in the recognition of archaeological findings and the analysis and interpretation of data. The two villages of Tang Mansouri and Nokhan in Kermanshah province are among the few communities that have remained far away from the changes of the present age and have been able to preserve their traditional way of life to some extent. Accordingly, to conduct the present research, the two mentioned villages were considered the most suitable options for conducting ethno-archaeological studies in relation to their surroundings, and therefore they were selected for the present research. In this research, the ethno-archaeology of these two villages has been investigated simultaneously and a comprehensive description of them has been presented by studying different aspects of life. Finally, by comparing the findings of the research, suggestions have been presented that will help archaeologists to have a more accurate analysis of their findings. Besides, the pattern of waste disposal, which is very important in archaeological exploration and interpretations, has been emphasized and theories about the archaeological landscape of the sites have been presented.

Urban expansion in recent decades, especially in the peripheral areas of Tehran and Karaj, has led to the expansion of areas that were villages surrounded by gardens on the outskirts of Karaj before the revolution. Mardabad/Mahdasht, which became a city in the not-so-distant past (1991), has expanded rapidly and the gardens and historical monuments around it, like many other cities in Alborz province, have been destroyed or exposed to destruction. Tepe Mardabad is located in Mahdasht town, eleven kilometers southwest of Karaj in Alborz province. The site has been registered as number 2252 in the list of national monuments of Iran in 1998. Mardabad is located in the northwestern of Mahdasht town, exactly on the border of residential houses and agricultural lands, residential constructions in recent years have severely threatened, destroyed and encroached the southern and to some extent eastern parts of the site. In spring of 2016 archaeological excavation curried out in the site to recognized core and buffer zone. Tepe Mardabad is one of the highest ancient mound in Alborz province, there are evidences of the cultural sequence from the 6th millennium BC to the Middle Islamic era in this area. certainly, conducting scientific and more extensive excavtions in this site will lead to obtaining much more accurate archaeological information. However, according to surface pottery evidence, the site has a long chronological sequence: Late Neolithic period (Sialk I / 6th millennium BC), Transitional Chalcolithic / Cheshmeh Ali (Sialk II / late 6th / early of the fifth millennium BC), Iron Age I (the end of the second millennium BC), the historical period and the Islamic era.

There are many archaeological sites that have been neglected and left vulnerable to damage In Iran. This problem leads to the destruction of valuable artifacts and, consequently, the loss of culture, history, function, and appearance of these sites. Site Museums can play a very effective role in achieving the comprehensive protection and cultural and historical development of the site, as well as optimizing the region's capacities and recognizing the region's history and culture. As cultural and historical centers, Site Museums play an important role in preserving and maintaining cultural and historical heritage, and by displaying these artifacts, they create an opportunity for history and culture enthusiasts to become familiar with the history and culture of the region. The goal of this research is to identify important indicators within a flexible theoretical framework for creating a Site Museum based on a conservation and tourism approach. To achieve this goal, in the first stage, the necessity of creating Site Museums and paying attention to archaeological sites is discussed by reviewing the literature and theories presented in this field and examining previous Site Museum experiences around the world. In the second stage, by documenting two foreign experiences and two domestic experiences and analyzing them using the SWOT method, theoretical knowledge is provided to enhance the construction of Site Museums so that more effective policies can be adopted based on this knowledge. The method used in this article is descriptive and analytical, and the results of the research show that one of the most effective ways to preserve sites and identify their historical, functional, and educational aspects is to create a Site Museum.

Seals and seal impressions are important evidence for the economic, political, and social relationships of societies in the ancient world. By studying them, we can obtain specific information about the level and extent of the relationships between the ancient inhabitants of the site or region with its surrounding world. Previous discoveries in the region of central Zagros and especially in Kermanshah province indicate that seals have a long history. For example, in Tapeh Giyan, it goes back at least to the old chalcolithic and Bronze periods. Despite the importance of the findings of Chogha Maran, Dehsavar, and Tapeh Tyalineh, the number of known sites in the west of central Zagros which have a collection of seals and seal impressions are very small, and there still is not a clear view about the level of complexity of the ancient sites in the region, especially regarding the use of seals and seal impressions, nor are the technology and style of seal cutting in this region understood. In this article, the authors have tried to introduce the seals and seal impressions of Tapeh Kheibar of Ravansar, showing the importance of this site among the other sites of the region, and provide some evidence of several thousand years of using property tools in this place. The current collection of Tapeh Kheibar includes six stamp seals, four cylinder seals, and one seal impression, which are range from the chalcolithic to the Parthian period. The most important of these is a Kassite seal with a cuneiform inscription in the Sumerian language, which may have belonged to a high-ranking person in the Tapeh Kheibar in the Kassite period (second millennium BCE).

The Archaeological Survey of a part of the Valley of Sirwan River between the east of Sarvabad County and the west of Sanandaj County in the southwest of Kurdistan province was carried out in October 2016. The area is surrounded by many heights covered with oak and banyan trees, forming a V-shaped valley with a short width and a steep slope. This situation is not an ideal condition for the formation of sites and human settlements, and therefore, it was not logical to expect the discovery of many sites before the survey. This survey included only the catchment areas of Nayabad Dam, where in total 11 sites were identified. The oldest identified settlements, including 6 sites, belonged to the Parthian period and no older findings were obtained from this survey. Just a site had evidence from the 4th to 6th A.D. centuries. It seems that the lack of ancient sites in the valley is most likely related to the geological and topographic conditions of the valley. The lack of arable land, the stony nature of the area, and the excessive slope of the land in the valley have caused the formation of only nine ancient sites and two cemeteries throughout the region. Locating on the slopes and being single-period sites are reasons we see only a small number of pottery pieces in most of the sites, which apparently are scattered in a natural bed without any archaeological deposits. To identify the endangered sites of the valley, four of them were excavated (tested by 3-5 sondages), three of which had the remains of seasonal settlements, and in the area of Deh Kohene 1, a graveyard from the Parthian period was revealed, where a simple pit grave and a burial pot were revealed from there. For the aforementioned reasons, the valley of Sirwan River from Negel to Nayabad due to its environmental conditions and topography, did not have many and very important settlements throughout history. The distribution pattern of the ancient sites and the appearance of the archaeological deposits show that a pattern similar to today has been ruling in the region in the past. At present, for six months of the year, the people of the region live in scattered houses and places located in their agricultural land and gardens on the edge of the river and return to the village during the cold season. Undoubtedly, this pattern was formed due to environmental restrictions and has continued to the present.