Iranian Journal of Archaeological Studies
Volume:13 Issue: 1, Summer and Autumn 2023

The following article analyzes a classical highly-curved Persian šamšir (sword) that is kept in the Malek LibraryMuseum in Tehran, Iran. The blade is highly-curved, has a wedge shape, and a flat fuller. However, the typical styleof most highly-curved Persian sword blades has no fullers. The blade is made of patterned crucible steel (pulād-egŏhardār). Persian patterned crucible steel was considered one of the best types of steel not only in Iran but alsoin other countries. Based on the pattern and visisble structures of the surface of the blade, patterned crucible steelwas classified into different categories. The crucible steel pattern on this example is pulād-e jŏhardār-e xati thatmeans “lined watered steel. The blade has a gold-overlaid maker’s mark of Assadollāh Isfahāni and also carriesthe name of Šāh Abbās. These are integrated in four gold-overlaid inscriptions on the obverse side of the blade.The upper cartouche reads: Al-Soltān Šāh Abbās (the ruler Šāh Abbās), the upper middle cartouche is a bodduh(a magic square), the lower middle cartouche reads: Amal-e Assadollāh (the work of Assadollāh), and the lowercartouche reads: Isfahāni. The inscriptions seem to be later additions to the blade. The crossguard is made ofpatterned crucible steel and pierced in floral and geometric designs on both sides. The scabbard chape is made ofsteel. The handle scales are made of bone. The wooden scabbard is a new replacement covered with new leather.The general dimensions of the saber follow many historical examples.

The present paper deals with the preliminary identification of mason’s marks found in some of the historicalstructures of the Panchmahal district, Gujarat. Unlike other historical and archaeological research fields, mason’smarks represent a less known field in Indian academia. In very general terms, one can define a mason’s mark asany signs ranging from short inscriptions to any form of alpha-numeric values inscribed on architectural elements.In this paper, the authors discuss a series of such marks recorded at isolated historical buildings of the district,trying to explain why inquiry into mason’s marks can be deemed an integral part of architectural studies. A briefdescription of the study area and adapted methodologies is followed by the detailed accounts of the monumentsand the related finds in tabular format.

Forts are among the evidences that are central to understanding administrative-political sovereignty. Qal’ehDokhtar is a fort with a special position in Kerman’s history thanks to the measures its builders had taken regardingits approach and security. The present contribution aimed to analyze and expound upon the spatial relationships inQal’eh Dokhtar’s architecture using the space syntax technique. The dataset deriving from the field surveys andhistorical texts was analyzed in Depthmap software. The results showed that the so-called “ruler’s residence” hadthe highest spatial depth, and its difficult access furnished the security inherent in such a residence. Furthermore, inlight of the parameters of control and entropy, the eastern quarter of the fort was found to exhibit the lowest level ofboth access and control across the fort. In terms of connectivity, Court I enjoyed the highest level of accessibility,continuity, and spatial coherence with the remaining spaces at the complex as they all clustered around this centralcourtyard. Court II showed the highest degree of integration. It was probably home to the administrative body,and perhaps also supplied the services to other quarters, as suggested by the passageways linking it to the differentparts of the fort.

As a less known region with respect to Islamic pottery, Khusf County was surveyed in 2014 to record itshistorical relics. The intervening years have seen the publication of a lot of archaeological information on thedocumented relics, but the corpus of Islamic pottery from the region remains virtually unpublished. Its richdiversity in motif and decoration types and attribution to several different Islamic centuries as well as the fact thatthere were few published studies from South Khorasan province in general regarding regional Islamic ceramicswarranted an independent study. Thus, the present study has the potential to not only shed light on the archeologyof Khusf but also contribute to the studies of the related Islamic pottery from the province. With these in mind,the major questions addressed here concern the chronology of the pottery corpus in question and the centersfrom which comparanda could be drawn. This paper embarks on a comparative analysis of the Islamic potteryassemblages from Khusf County to establish a comparative chronology. The data for this descriptive-comparativestudy comes from both field and library researches. The findings suggest that the Islamic pottery from the countyspans at least the 10th to the 19th century AD. In types of motifs and decoration, the pottery finds parallels over abroad swathe of eastern and southern Iran, and for the most part represents potential imports from such regions orcenters as Nishapur, Mashhad, and Kerman.

Rock arts, especially pictographs, feature peculiar characteristics in the history of Iranian art. Most scholars regard them as a form of visual art. Given the long history of representation in rock art spanning the Paleolithic period up to the present, they have been considered from various archeological, anthropological, artistic, symbolic, and historical and decorative arts perspectives to pin down their themes, meanings, and date. The present work examines a series of pictographs from the Kuhdasht region of Lorestan using a combination of field, laboratorial, and library research approaches. Notably, this is the very first study in Iran addressing the pigments of pictographs at a rock art site. A popular local tradition holds that the ancient artists used a mixture of blood, oak syrup, and soot to prepare the paint used at the site. Hence, the motifs, rock types, and pigments of the Charta region were analyzed to characterize their chemical composition and the elements constituting the pigments. To this end, a Dino Light digital loop microscope was used, and point tests and petrography were then carried out using scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). The elemental analyses revealed the nature of the red pigment. The motifs at Charta include representations of tools, geometric motifs, and human figures, portraying fighting or pre-fighting scenes. The chemical composition of the red pigment consisted of a high iron (Fe) content as well as smaller percentages of Ca, Mg, Al, and Si. The abundance of iron element detected in the elemental analysis of the specimen’s surface and the intensity of the peaks related to the composition of iron oxide in the FT-IR spectra might more strongly indicate the presence of these compounds in the pigment.Therefore, the pigments were mainly made of iron oxides, such as red ocher or hematite, magnetite, and magnesium. Thus, the artists invariably used highly durable and resilient mineral pigments, which based on the micrographs of the paint layer cross-sections were directly applied to the rock and, thus the absence of any sort of primer. No organic element was detected in the pigment composition.

Considering the severe climatic conditions in the Sistan Region of Iran and due to 120-day winds and burningsun, it is imperative to adapt the traditional housing in this region to the climate. Unfortunately, the use of patternsdisproportionate to the climate in recent decades has become a common problem considering the changes inpeople’s lifestyles and livelihoods and technological changes. The question is “How can the historical andtraditional architectural style in the Sistan region be used for developing contemporary housing?”Using a case study and a descriptive-analytical approach, the adaptation of rural houses to environmentalconditions was investigated in five prominent historical villages of Sistan. Subsequently, solutions were proposedto adapt to the climatic conditions of the region. In addition, models for rural housing were proposed. Based onthe findings of the field study, it seems that using the old models of traditional Sistani architecture is an effectivestrategy for designing housing suitable for the special climate of this region in the present era. Moreover, thefindings highlighted the necessity to pay attention to the orientation of the building for better use of wind andnatural ventilation, create natural and artificial windbreaks, use water and green space, shade the walls, and useintroverted architectural models and central yards.

Natural hazards in ancient times were among the factors central to the decline of human cultures and civilizations.Climate change periods are associated with increased extreme weather events such as torrential rains and prolongeddroughts, thus posing severe challenges to human societies. In the fourth millennium BCE, variable climaticconditions in the Tehran plain caused cultural dynamics to be disrupted. Through an environmental archaeologicalapproach, the present study discusses the possible causes of cultural decline and collapse in this plain in two stagesof climate change during the fourth millennium BCE. The data derives from the archaeological site of MafinAbad, where occurs a situation similar to a series of sites in North Central and Southwest Iran. High-resolutionpaleoclimate research has been used to reconstruct the climatic conditions of the fourth millennium BCE. Thisresearch reflects the importance of environmental sedimentology studies in archaeological sites to identify possibleenvironmental reasons for cultural prosperity and disintegration of prehistoric rural communities.

The focus of this work is the archaeometric investigation of a high quality ceramic typical of the Indo-IranianBorderlands in ca. 3300‒2900 BCE. Variously labelled as “Emir Grey” and “Late Shahi Tump” ware, this finegrey ceramic is often considered an elite or prestige product on account of its very thin walls, fine fabric, andpainted designs. In the present paper, thin-section petrography, XRD, and SEM-EDX analyses were carried out ona selection of pottery pieces from the burial contexts at the Chegerdak cemetery of Iranshahr (Baluchestan, Iran).The results shed new light on the production and circulation of the pottery. Most notably, it potentially extendedthe map of its production centers to western Iranian Baluchestan.

Stamp seals are incredibly significant as a category of archeological finds because of their various motifs andfunctions, and inquiry into such glyptic evidence will help reconstruct different aspects of human life. During theSassanian period, stamp seals were made of precious and semi-precious stones in different shapes and designs. Inthis descriptive, comparative and analytical study, the data was collected through library research, and the authorsattempted to study, analyze and compare the designs on several Sassanian stamp seals with the depictions ofconstellation signs in Abd al-Rahman Sufi’s famous book Sovar al-Kavakeb. The results show strong similaritiesbetween the considered glyptic designs and astronomical symbols. On account of the Sassanian’s deep belief inastrology and the role the constellations played in their lifestyle and ruling system, it is conceivable that suchstamp seals served apotropaic purposes and were related with Sassanian’s astrological beliefs connected withpredicting good and bad days. The main purpose behind the application of these designs was most probably toseek the support and protection from constellations. Associating these glyptic designs with constellations is furthersupported by a series of animal motifs such as scorpions, snakes and bears which did not held any position in theSassanian belief system, demonstrating that these motifs were designed for astrological prognostications. Forexample, from the Sassanian point of view, the motif of scorpion and snake form the class of vermin, and devilishanimals and bears symbolize ruin and corruption. Therefore, such evil representing motifs were employed for noreasons other than their relation to the constellations and astrological prophecies.

The Elamite World is one of the specialized and professional books in the field. It first published in 2018 by Routledge, part of Taylor & Francis Group, and their works as a leading publisher champions the knowledge-maker. This one-volume edition has put together the scientific achievements of a group of 40 International specialist scholars, in order to present a verifiable, comprehensive, Controlled, illustrated, and contemporary account of the Elamite civilization. It contains the complete text of 41 articles. The Elamite World includes an introduction along with eight parts, which cover a range of various topics such as physical environment, historical development, languages, people, material and spiritual culture, as well as the heritage of Elam in the Achaemenid Empire and its presence in the modern world. Javier Álvarez-Mon, Gian Pietro Basello, Yasmina Wicks, three editors of this book, are well-thinking and creative scholars who devoted most of their lifetime of research to the civilization of Elam.There is absolutely no doubt that Elam was one of the highly powerful, long-lasting and advanced civilizations of the Iranian plateau before the arrival of the Aryans.