پژوهشنامه خراسان بزرگ
پیاپی 51 (تابستان 1402)

Mashhad plain in northeastern Iran, due to its natural and special location, has been one of the influential routes in trade between Central Asia and the Iranian plateau. Along with the waterless deserts and high mountains of Central Asia, the Mashhad plain has been a good route for caravans to pass through this area, but we have limited archaeological information from this area. The ancient site of Qaravolkhaneh in the east of Mashhad plain is one of the important and key sites in the plain bed, which is located on a high natural hill overlooking Kashfarud, next to the ancient road from Central Asia to the Iranian plateau. The purpose of this research, which is done using library and field studies, is an answer to the question of what settlement periods the cultural findings of the site include and on what basis the site is functionally formed? Findings were collected in a field study by incidental sampling and then studied and compared. In the study of surface findings of this area, four types of pottery and three settlement periods including bronze, Parthian and Sassanid were identified, which somehow indicates the greater connection of Mashhad plain with Central Asian cultures (especially the southeastern regions of Turkmenistan) than the Iranian plateau. Evidence shows that in any period that provided a suitable platform for communication between Central Asia and the Iranian plateau, especially commercially, we see the formation of ancient sites such as castles and caravanserais on this route to provide security.

One of Zoroastrian burial customs is exposing the body in Dakhms. Because of the eastern roots of the Zoroastrian religion, this burial custom could have originated from Central Asia and became as most common Zoroastrian burial custom in Iran and Central Asia. Based on archaeological data and Classical texts, bodies have exposed in the open air without the need to put them in hand-made Dakhmas until the 2nd century BC. This paper has tried to study Dakhmas custom and investigate the formals evolution of Zoroastrian Dakhmas from the beginning of hand-made Dakhmas in the 2nd century BC to the last known example in the 13th century. In this regard, there are some questions to answer: 1) Because of the eastern origins of the Zoroastrian cult is hand-made Dakhmas custom originated from Central Asia? 2) How this burial custom has evolved from the Hellenistic to the Mid-Islamic period? 3) How these evolutions reflect in the architectural structure of Zoroastrian Dakhma? For the answers to these questions, a descriptive-analytical method was used. Field and historical texts studies and comparative studies are the most important methods of this illustration. This study will show the eastern origins of hand-made Dakhmas and demonstrate three different architectural customs. The origins and evolution of these customs hide in the historical context of Central Asia.

In the context of the governmentality concept that introduced by Michel Foucault in 1980; The institution of power ideology with its related components, has spatial consequence. So that, by reaching this ideology to position of power; They produce their own social and cultural border. So, Territorial identity in the governmentality concept framework consists of a set of symbols that are articulated by the government socio-political discourse and resistance of some social forces against it at a particular period in history. In this view, identity boundaries have no natural aspect, but they are constructed phenomenon, that has been established over time by political power as a collective memory and it is possible to rebuild it in the future. In this article; has been attempted by using the Michel Foucault's governmentality theoretical theme; be investigated how was formulated territorial identity in the era of Samani dynasty (900-999 A.D). In this regard, the articulation of national identity in the Samani rule era was represented based on combined reading the political ideas of ancient Iran and Islam. Also, the promotion of Persian as a standard language; strengthened Intersubjective subscriptions among the people, in the relative attribution to the mythical kings of ancient Iran provided the identity borders construction legitimacy by the political apparatus of Samanid, by creating ancient lineage for ruling dynasties and by inserting it in ancient texts (in the form of the relationship between knowledge and power) was used to establish intersubjective subscriptions in society.

Environmental factors play an effective role in creating human settlements in any time period. Sarakhs Basin in the northeast of Khorasan Razavi province is one of the regions of Iran that due to the lack of archaeological research on its biological and cultural landscape, many ambiguities and questions are raised. In the last fifty years, this area has been studied by various delegations, and several Bronze Age sites have been identified in this area. In this study, the main question is what are the most important environmental factors in the formation of bronze settlements in this area? In this research, 8 identified areas belonging to the third and second millennium BC of this area have been studied by descriptive-analytical method, using Arc GIS software, in relation to natural variables. The analysis of the findings has shown that this area in the Bronze Age includes settlements that have been subject to watercourses and other geographical factors such as terraces and clay sediments. In the Bronze Age, we see permanent and temporary settlements in this area, so that settlements with few deposits have been created near the water sources of waterways. These areas are often located in low altitudes and in the Bronze Age, the livelihood of this area, according to the elevation measurement of Bronze Age areas and soil type analysis, this area was probably based on livestock and agriculture was limited.

The myth revolving around the first Iranian invasion of Turan under the third Kayanid king Kay Khosrow represents a momentous event in the so-called Mythic Stage of Iranian history. Regardless of Kay Khosrow’s warning, Tus, the commander of the Iranian army in this occasion, sets off for Turan, a defiance that would culminate in a clash with Kay Khosrow’s half-brother Farud, the demise of the latter, and the destruction of his fortress. With archaeomythology as its starting point, the present paper attempted an appraisal of the historicity of this myth by means of examining various aspects of the available archaeological data, on the one hand, and the existing texts pertinent to the Mythic Stage of Iran’s history, on the other. Ascertaining the historical form of this mythological narrative in archaeological terms was the main purpose of this study. Along with establishing a chronology for the subject at stake, this paper indicates a demonstrable correlation between the components of the two sides. Examination of geographical, chronological, descriptive and cultural parameters represented the principle research method. Expanded and continued archaeomythological studies will have the potential to produce a better picture of the history of regions that adopted writing much later than Mesopotamia and Egypt.

Accumulation of metal-rich mines in Great Khorasan region and brilliant history in the production of metal works from prehistoric times to the Islamic era caused ancient texts and sources to always emphasize the dynamics of metalworking in the northeastern and southeastern provinces of Iran.. Tabas city is located in South Khorasan province .There are many evidence of melting sites as well as mineral deposits in this cultural it is important in terms of evidence of melting and metal extraction and through the existence evidence of metal extraction. During archeological studies in 2015 and 2018 and writers’ field visit in the year 2021 in this cultural zone, have discovered 3 mines and 12 metal smelting sites. This research tries based on the results of archaeological field methodological study, texts and written sources, descriptive – analytical method to identify the evidence related to metallurgy industry, smelting technology and type of extracted ore deposit .With the studies done, typology and comparative comparison of the discovered slag with the known metal centers, it seems that the composition of the slag includes the main elements of iron, lead and copper, Archaeological field studies performed in mines and metal smelting sites identified show that metallurgists in this area used open and underground methods to extract minerals and after transferring mineral parts to workshops and smelting furnaces, they used roasting method for melting metals. Cultural materials (pottery) obtained from around the only furnace discovered show that this mine will cover the ages (Seljuk to Timurid).