Dara Yatax, an Achaemenid settlement at Karacamirli (Ахеменидское поселение Дара Ятах в Гараджемирли) (original) (raw)

2023, Емиль Искендеров - Мартин Грубер, Ахеменидское поселение Дара Ятах в Гараджемирли, Azərbaycan Arxeologiyası 25/1, 2023, 8–37

The excavations at Dara Yatax revealed the remains of a settlement which was founded probably in connection with the establishment of the Achaemenid residence at Karacamirli in the second quarter of the 5th cent. BC and it remained inhabited until at least the late 4th or beginning of the 3rd cent. BC, when the major Achaemenid buildings had already lost their original function and were gradually exposed to decay. The archaeological features at Dara Yatax included burials, a pit-house and various storage and rubbish pits which were all dug from a not preserved level. On the basis of their pottery contents, at least three different chronological stages could be distinguished. In the beginning the site appears to have been used as a burial ground. The ceramic vessels found in Burial KG-128 and in the two pottery deposits, for which a burial context can also made plausible, show links to Iberian pottery assemblages of the 5th cent. BC and early 4th cent. BC. If these burials pre-dated the settlement or were interred at the time of its formation, remains an open question. It is, however, clear that at some point the settlement extended over the former burial ground and at least three deep bottle-shaped storage pits were dug in that area. In the case of KG-129, the pit cut through parts of Burial KG-128, confirming the later date of the pits, even though the pottery in their secondary fill also points to a date in the mid-1st millennium BC, implying a rather short period of time between those features. The burial ground might well represent the initial phase of the Achaemenid arrival at Karacamirli, while the storage pits contained several typical vessels of the Achaemenid period (in particular phialai), giving the impression that they were contemporary with the main phase of the Achaemenid presence, when the adjacent administrative complex was established. Judging by the finds of red-painted pottery in the large pit KG-139/KG-156 the settlement continued to exist into the post-Achaemenid occupation at Karacamirli. This also applies to the pit-house KG-085 which appears to have been inhabited throughout the entire history of the settlement, as it contained sherds of all stages, including examples following the local material culture reminiscent of the preceding Late Bronze and Early Iron Age periods.