JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDIES
Year:2020 | Volume:11 | Issue:2 (SERIAL NO. 20)|Papers Count:15

In autumn 2014, sewer construction works in one of the busiest parts of Tehran yielded Islamic pottery sherds from the Safavid to Qajar periods. Following a visit by archaeologists from the Iranian Centre for Archaeological Research, one of the authors (MEEJ) was appointed as the director of salvage excavations at archaeologically sensitive locations along the sewer line that had provided evidence such as potsherds, glass fragments, metal pieces and bricks. We opened six small trenches along the line of sewer construction, of which, Trenches I and VI proved to be more important the others due to the finds they yielded. These find, based on comparable specimens, can be dated to the fifth millennium BC or even earlier, Late Neolithic. In fact, Tehran for its favorable environmental conditions is one of the best areas to host Chalcolithic sites. The results of Moulavi excavations provided significant information about the prehistoric cultures of the Iranian Central Plateau, especially Chalcolithic cultures. The archaeological finds of the Trench I include potsherds of Cheshmeh Ali culture, animal bones, lithics such as blades, bladelets and bullet-shaped core, a possible hearth and a human burial; all these finds indicate sporadic settlement of the early Chalcolithic period in the Tehran Plain. The results of analyzed specimens from this trench confirm the existence of an occupation from the sixth to the first millennium at this spot. In this paper we describe and discuss the results of Trench I.

Urbanism as a comprehensive research subject could be explored from various anthropological, social and archaeological points of view. This paper, based on one of these theoretical approaches suggesting a direct relationship between the city form and socio-political structure, argues against recent discussions on the urbanization nature of Central Fars during the Achaemenid period. The cultural developments at this region have not been led to establishment of urbanization because of nomadic nature of Achaemenid king, his itinerant court and strong pastoral aspects of population. A survey of current evidence shows that the growth following the foundation of Achaemenid Empire and beginning of building operation at Persepolis was so ephemeral that soon stopped before reaching to the stage of urbanization. The results of recent archaeological investigations at the Persepolis plain reveal that the interpretation of newly discovered material as remains of a city, as excavators claim, is problematic and there is no clear indication of an urban landscape in the region during the Achaemenid period.

Ziz is one of the important cities that Geographers and Historians have described it in the early centuries and Mid-Islamic period. Ziz was a city of the Arrajan Khore, which is located in the north-east of it. According to historical sources, it was located on the route of Arrajan to Esfahan and this city has pulpit and main (jamea) Mosque. This research is aimed to specify the exact geographical location of Ziz city. The authors of this paper applied descriptive– analytical approach and analysis of field study and documented data (literary sources) attempts to answers regarding question about ancient sites or site including the remains of ziz city? The results of field study and archaeological surveys and analysis of historical texts show that the geographical location of Ziz city is more likely the modern Boyerahmad city located in the Ziz area on the "Ziz Nesah" site.

The symbolic scenes of the divine investiture of the Kings is one of the most widely used themes in the art of the Ancient East that reflect the interconnectedness of politics and religion and serves to display the supreme position of the King and his divine right. The recurrence of these scenes in the art of ancient Iran indicates the use of ancient and foreign traditions by Iranians. The reason behind the Persian Kings’ appeal to this tradition is the question that, this research is going to answer based on the historical issues and political considerations. The analyses show that the Achaemenids in the face of the Ancient East, Arsacids in the faced the Greeks and Sassanians in the face of Kushan and Romans, used artistic language for their propaganda and the investiture scenes were among the most important ones. The propaganda was also used among the common people and internal rivals of the King. Accordingly, some of the Persian Kings, most notably Darius I, Ardeshir I, and Chosroes II, who had challenges in terms of legitimacy, turned to these scenes. Consequently, the iconography of the Gods in these scenes, despite being considered disgraceful in the view of the Zoroastrianism, is related to the royal custom, and should not be considered the revelation or religious heresy of the Kings.

The study of burials in ancient world is one of the most important sources to recognize religions, culture and ideological beliefs of ancient peoples. In the Sassanid eras, also it seems that by appearing Zarathustra as an official religion and strengthening fire-worshippers and the clergy, they tried that the burial method and hiding the dead bodies would be performed according to their religious laws. Water and Soil are sacred in Zarathustra religion, and if the body is buried into the soil, it will be contaminated, if it is drowned in to the water, it will be impure, and if it is burned they will be committed the greatest sins by polluting this heavenly brightness. On the basis of these ideas, at first, they placed the bodies of the dead into the tombs built on the mountains, mounds and heights while their flesh would be decayed, then their bones would be transferring into places called Estudan. Since less religious patterns has been remained that are directly related to this matter in the country. These Estudans can elucidate many points about religious beliefs in the period before Islam, and unfortunately the main part of this information are disappearing because of many factors threatening them. Many of these Estudans are placed at Shoushtar area, and some of them have inscription and signs of Sassanians. The present study is an attempt to identify and investigate the most valuable aspects these ancient works with a reference to the written sources.

This paper will suggest a hypothesis about the Early Bronze Age administrative organization of Chogha Maran and the Mahidasht in the West Central Zagros based on administrative evidence retrieved from the Early Bronze Age trash deposits excavated at the site of Chogha Maran and previous researches and fieldworks carried out in the region. Based on this hypothesis, in order to adapt to the socio-economic and political developments of the Late Forth and Early Third Millennium B. C. and trying to diversify their subsistence strategies, communities of the region developed a village based mixed economy involving settled farmer groups and mobile pastoralist groups who could exploit pastoralism potential of the mountainous environment of the region as well as reorganizing regional and interregional trade around the Khorasan Highroad. Administrative organization of the communities had to be adjusted to the absence of mobile groups in the village during some periods of the year, therefore, they constructed a communal administration in which each group of people could store their products, foodstuff and properties and access to them when they need. As a result, different groups of people, especially the mobile ones had the assurance that they could protect and control their belongings in the village. Testing the hypothesis requires further studies on the administrative evidence excavated at Chogha Maran as well as museum research and fieldworks.

A study of dental elements can provide useful information about the diet and social, economic and biological status of the human population in the past. The nutritional status of the past human populations can be achieved by examining the portion of dental elements obtained. In this study, a total of 8 dental samples, four ancient samples (belonging to the Bronze Age) obtained from the site of Firouzeh Neyshabur and four other new samples (collected from the contemporary period) were retrieved from the Repair Clinics of the Mashhad Dentistry Faculty. To determine properties of the chemical structure of the enamel using the semi-quantitative analysis of elements by the Energy Dispersive X-Ray Analysis (EDX), the samples were sent to the Razi Metallurgical Laboratory of Tehran. Inhabitants of Shahrake Firouzeh, Site it could be posited that they mainly used vegetable and meat in their diet and seafood constituted part of their dietary regime. Our result shows that the high levels of essential elements of teeth, such as calcium, phosphorus and fluorine, and the absence of any decay on enamels of dental samples derived from Shahrake Firouzeh demonstrate the relative dental health during that Bronze Age, which can be said to be the result of proper nutrition and access of people to resources of healthy drinking water in those areas.

Investigating and prioritizing the centrality (political) of the Qajar fortified settlements areas in Sistan region of Iran requires studying effective environmental factors (natural and human) using appropriate methods, techniques and models. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate and prioritize existing criteria and indicators to determine the centrality of these settlements (9 cases) using the Analytic Network Process (ANP) model. In this regard, the research question is: Which castle settlement in the Qajar period played a more central political role in Sistan? The methodology used in this research is descriptive-analytical and comparative-historical and based on documentary (library) studies and field surveys. ArcGIS and Super Decisions software were used for data analysis. The results show that the highest priority rating in all castle settlements belongs to the "Sekuheh" option with a score of (0. 233). Of the criteria “ natural environmental factors” the option “ relative slope against flood” (0. 388) ranked first and the option “ access to the hydrographic network of Hirmand” (0. 217) gained the second rank and highest scores in this criterion group. Besides, gaining the top score in the option “ the extent of castle settlement” (0. 473), the criterion “ human environmental factors” ranked top.

During the 7th-8th centuries AH, Sirjan was one the most important and valid cities in the Kerman region which was ruled by local states known as Qarakhtaian and Al Mozafar. Not only Sirjan is mentioned in many historical sources but also multiple excavations have been done in the city's old historical context. Most of the archaeological studies on this city are limited from early Islamic era until Saljooghi era and the middle centuries especially 7th-8th centuries AH are less concerned. Therefore, the main goal of this article is to evaluate the city's status during 7th-8th centuries AH based on historic and archaeological facts. In this research we used descriptive-comparative approach, historical analysis and in order to gather the essential data, we applied field studies and valid documents to answer this question: What were the most important historical and archaeological transformations in Sirjan during 7th-8th centuries AH? As a result of our studies, we found that between 6th and 9th centuries AH the old city was relocated and expanded towards west to the current Ghal-e Sang region. Nevertheless, the city was still considered by several governors and because of this matter, numerous defensive structures was built all around the city. Also by studying various types of potteries in this era of Sirjan, we found that the city enjoyed social-economic dynamism and the residents used diverse types of potteries; manufactured inside and outside the region. This point indicates the existence of an extensive commercial relations with other domestic urban centers and possibly with foreign cities. Some of the remarkable types of potteries in this era of Sirjan are Zarin Faam, Sultan Abadi, Lajevardineh and Seladon.

The analyses and interpretations of archaeological findings and historical texts of the Sassanid period have not yielded satisfactory results in some cases despite extensive evidence. The plastered motifs of Bandian Fire Temple in Dargaz are still unknown despite many years of archaeological excavations and reports. Designed around the entrance hall, these motifs include images of hunting, battles of riders, victory (defeating the enemy), religious ceremonies, meetings of kings, coronation, and banquets. They actually reconstruct the story of the Hephthalites' invasion of Iran during the reign of Bahram V and their defeat by Iranians. However, some of the scenes and characters in this hall have not been analyzed and interpreted properly. By presenting well-documented evidence using historical and iconographical texts in the plastered motifs, this study evaluates and recognizes some of the scenes and images in order to provide a clearer picture of a historical narrative.

The Chehrabad salt mine is one of the rare ancient salt mine in the world and the only identified salt mine in Iran which has evidences of salt extracting over a long time span from 500 BC to modern times. According to the field researches conducted so far, in the excavated area, mining activities are proven to be in use in the Achaemenid, Sasanian, Middle and Late Islamic periods. After the accidental discoveries in 1993 and 2004, several season of excavation and archaeological surveys, have been carried out in the mine and around it. Archaeological researches brought to light interesting results concerning the techniques, periods and extracting tools, also relation between salt mine and the archaeological sites around it. Digging deep tunnels inside the salt rock deposits in different dimensions and sizes and using the various extraction tools can be seen in the excavated area with the difference in details in all the aforementioned periods. The long-term salt extraction activities and multi-periodic collapse of the tunnels, have resulted the formation of various layers such as fall, occupation, mining and erosion layers in different parts of the mine and the filling many of its old tunnels. According to documents, Most of the discovered human remains were probably non-native miners who died during catastrophic mining accidents and mummified naturally.

A joint team from University of Tehran and Leicester University carried out a first season of archaeological exploration of Zoroastrian societies in Maybod of Yazad province during May of 2016 for two weeks. Historical archaeology is in its infant stage in Iran while most of data in nowadays due to the modernity has been disappeared and therefore, any researches can be considered as salvage program. The aim of this research is to answer some historical archaeology approach concerning social history and ritual activities of the last communities of Zoroastrian societies of Yazd province based on the analysis of architectural layout and ethnographic data. In this paper we represent the preliminary report of the survey results of Mazra’ e Kalantar and Hassan 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 Hassan Abad villages. The second part of this paper has focused on the ethnographic results in order to achieve a holistic understanding of life experience based on the historical knowledge of native people. The second season of this project will help us to focus more on the cultural interaction of the present and past societies of the above mentioned region.

Symmetry is an analytical tool, used in recognition of intercultural relations as well as artistic objects comparison. It was first appeared in archaeological research since 1900’ s by studying the patterns that were depicted on the potteries. Various cultures (different historical periods) have various symmetry tastes. Some kinds of cultural changes are reflected in changes in symmetry preferences and/or in the presence of a new type of symmetrical pattern. The purpose of this research is to study the transformation or continuity of culture in historical periods of Hittite civilization based on the symmetrical pattern. The present research, based on the study of the written sources and the study of sculpture and bas-reliefs of the Hittite civilization regarding the mathematical nature of the symmetrical pattern, shows that the first signs of the use of symmetry in the art of this civilization have been introduced during the Great Hittite kingdom. In this period, there were various kinds of translation, Bi-lateral, Reflection, and Rotation symmetries in motifs, which seem to be rendered consciously, non-random and with a specific purposes. The presence of a new type of symmetry pattern during the Neo-Hittite period is likely to be as the result of a change in environment or the settlement pattern.

In recent years, two significant historical sites, Tepe Forodgah and Sangtarashan have been excavated in Khorramabad. Bronze objects explored from both sites exhibit an interesting feature of metal production in terms of shapes and techniques used. Tepe Forodgah was excavated in 2014 and Sangtarashan was excavated during six seasons since 2003. Tepe Forodgah yielded few bronze objects but a large number of bronze objects were obtained from Sangtarashan. In this research, two bronze objects were selected from each historical site and results of the analysis were analyzed and compared concerning their chronological orders. In this research, type of alloy, manufacturing technique, elements and chemical compounds of samples were studied by Scanning Electron Microscopy equipped with Elemental Analysis, Metallography, Computed Tomography and X-Ray Radiography. According to the results, the alloy used in all the objects was known to be bronze and based on the microstructure of the objects, hammering and annealing used in manufacturing technique.

The archaeological site of Moshkouyeh that nowadays called Moshkin tape is located in northern part of the Iranian plateau, between the two historical cities of Rey in the north and Saveh in the south. The two terms can be considered for the word of the Moshkouye: A) Moshkouye was a region where the hunting of gazelle and extraction of musk was carried out there. B) Moshkooy can be considered a kings palace or harem. By Searching in historical resources, it became clear that nowadays Moshkin Tape is the same as historical Moshkouye that was settlement in Khurasan Road. After reading the historical texts, the systematic survey of the site showed that pottery shards and pottery equipment could be the remains of an industrial city from the Seljuq Era. Archaeological excavation in 2008 indicated this small city has produced the pottery required by inhabitants of Rey and many villages in the political and cultural region of Rey during the 5th and 6th centuries after Hijrat. This paper analyzes the structure, function and chronology of excavated kilns. This aim has been achieved through the analyses and interpretation of ceramic along with ethnographic studies, historical resources and especially archaeological data which has been yielded from Moshkin tape survey and excavation.