2009 The Distribution of Pre -Urartian fortifications in Iran (original) (raw)
Related papers
International Journal of the Society of Iranian Archaeologists, 2017
2011 and 2012. Third season of excavation continued in August 2014. The survey and excavation yielded materials from the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age. Recently, a survey covering 30 ha at the second millennium B.C. site of Zardkhaneh, located near the city of Ahar in the province of Eastern Azerbaijan, brought to light 95 stone burials indicating that Zardkhaneh was a large cemetery, related to the adjacent settlement and defensive fortress. Our preliminary study shows that the large stone graves and kurgan type burials of Zardkhaneh had close connections with the material culture of areas today located in Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Turkey during these periods.
2019
Archaeological investigations were conducted in a ten-days excavation campaign in Anaqizli Tapeh, located about 9km southeast of Bastam, West Azerbaijan, in 2016. The first expedition aimed first of all, to confirm its scientific viability for the research question defined within the Project The Spread of Urartu. For this reason, a comprehensive geomagnet-ic and archaeological survey was conducted on the main hill Anaqizli Tapeh as well as on the surrounding hills in order to consider the settlement on Anaqizli Tapeh in its broadest chronological setting. The archaeological research at the Upper and Lower plateaus of Anaqizli Tapeh has offered a continuous occupation from the Chal-colithic period to the Late Iron Age with a clear concentration in the Iron Age 2 to Iron Age 4 periods. Geomagnetic prospections in the Upper Plateau yields the presence of two major building complexes A and B with divergent architectonic layouts and probably different chronological background. Preliminary excavations in trench RGL3 in the south of complex B offered a first stratigraphical sequence of the Iron Age 3 and 4 occupation associated to a so far freestanding architectonic complex.
Archaeological landscapes of western Iran are representative of great and important socio-cultural changes during various periods of prehistory in Iran. This region, which is largely comprised of the Central Zagros range, has attracted the attention of many archaeologists, who have conducted numerous archaeological surveys and excavations there since the early 20 th century. Despite its suitable environment, Sarfirouzabad Plain in southern Kermanshah has only just been the subject of surface surveys and studies. Because of its characteristics, the plain has undergone a systemic field survey by a team from Tehran University in 2009, which yielded important results and has significantly added to our limited knowledge of the history of the region. Among the various sites were explored there have been 24 sites of the Middle and Late Bronze Ages (Godin III). The distribution of these sites across the plain has been connected to the environmental factors, especially access to the water resources, while other factors presumably affecting the settlement formation were based on the cultural and political issues. The goal of this article is to improve the quality of techniques in the understanding of archaeology of regional cultural systems.
Iranian Journal of Archaeological Studies, 2021
As it is well known, the tradition of studies on the post-Achaemenid, Seleucid, Parthian and Sasanian periods in general, and on the Iranian Plateau in particular, has always maintained that in that period the urbanization processes of the territory were given a great boost. This was true for both the large quantity of information given by the Alexandrian and post-Alexandrian sources on the subject, and the archaeological evidence which, albeit in a sometimes-contradictory way, would show the characteristics of a major and large urban occupation of the territory with respect to the previous times. Proper cities (very rare and most of them out of the Iranian plateau!), urban layouts, settlements, fortifications, castles, regional walls etc. have always been tenaciously sought and identified (sometimes difficultly) on the ground! However, remains of urban occupation in clear and reliable archaeological contexts have very rarely been completely recognized in the Iranian plateau. One of the cases that we want to bring to the attention here is the one of Qalʽa-ye Sam, already identified in the middle of the last century, and approached by the activities of the Italian Archaeological Mission in Sistan (Iran) between 1959 and 1961 under the direction of Umberto Scerrato. The Italian archaeologist led some surveys and excavation tests on the site, which some foreign scholars called “Qalʽa”, an Arabic-Persian term meaning “fortification”. In this case, Qalʽa-ye Sam (the fortress, or the castle of Sam, whose name derives from the homonymous prince, ancestor of Rostam of the Sistanic cycle of the Šāhnāme in the Ferdousi saga) is the toponymic solution, often used locally, as it happens many times in other cases in the popular ancient toponomastics of Iran. In the general picture of the urbanization processes during the Parthian time in the Iranian Plateau and Central Asia, the author tries to outline a series of possible plans, forms and functional comparisons in the archaeological evidence, first with an overview of the most important settlements and cities of Hellenistic and Parthian times, known also thanks to the sources, and then by outlining other less known remains which have been documented only recently through the archeological data and topographical investigations.
Zār Bolāgh: A Late Iron Age Site in Central Iran
Zar Bolagh is located in the north of Qom province, central Iran. The site is known for its stone structure, which after its abandonment was deliberately filled with stone and gravel, similarly to Nush-i Jan, before finally being entirely covered by two thick stone and mud brick walls founded by mortar. In the winter of 2006, and under Malekzadeh's supervision, Zar Bolagh was investigated. During the course of excavation the team found valuable architectural elements comparable with other religious monuments in central Iran. This paper presents some preliminary results from the first season of excavation in Zar Bolagh, consisting of cemetery data and architectural remains. According to the pottery assemblage sequence this site can be dated to as early as the Late Iron Age.
Res Antiquae, 2023
Recent survey activities conducted in the Bukan region have led to the discovery of numerous previously unknown archaeological remains. Among these, one of the most interesting discoveries is a military complex near the village of Taragheh, right on the slopes of an important rock massif of the same name. The purpose of this paper is to describe and discuss this fortification system. The structures found, in particular long and massive fortification walls, have been dated on the basis of the construction technique and finds discovered to historical times, in particular the Parthian period. The structures appear to have been repaired and reused in both the Sassanian and Safavid periods. The complex is enigmatic especially in relation to its function, which remains difficult to interpret. Mount Taragheh (2250 m a.s.l.), 1 known also by the name of Baraghaneh, 2 is one of the most interesting and iconic natural monuments of northwestern Iran
Proceedings of the 6th International Congress of the …, 2010
Shamshirgah is located 20 km South of Qom and on the road Qom-Kahak. This site was reported for the fi rst time by Kleiss (Kleiss 1983) under the name of Khowrabad, but since the fi rst archaeological activities season under its local name "Shamshirgah". Shamshirgah is located between two rock ridges, lining the southern edge of the Dasht-e Kavir. Unfortunately some part of the architectural remains in this important Iron Age site in the central Iranian plateau was destroyed by illegal digging and also other activities. After visiting the site in 2003, I started an archaeological project in Shamshirgah (Fahimi 2003). In 2005 we began with topographical mapping, systematic survey and also excavation of a trench (CX57) in the center of site, North of natural gate of Shamshirgah. According to this excavations, the architectural remains and archaeological fi nds in this part of the site dated to Iron Age II (1200-800 B.C). The most important architectural remain from this period is a mudbrick wall, with a fl oor and stone wall. The size of the mudbricks is 36x36x10 cm. These mudbricks can be compared with mudbricks found from the Platform and other buildings of Sialk VI in Sialk South mound (Ghirshman 1939: Pl. XXXIII-XXXIV; Fahimi 2006: 110). In the excavated trench a stone wall 80 cm large, forming the outer wall of one corner of a building, was documented, that was covered, especially in the northern part, by debris and wall collapse. Three rooms inside the building were constrained within the limits of the trench (Azarnoush and Helwing 2005: 226). Shamshirgah was a great fortress with two big stone walls to the east and west and two long natural walls (rock ridge). The pottery associated with the building in trench CX57 is grey ware dating from Iron Age II. Shamshirgah is an
Middle and Late Bronze Age Sites in Sarfirouzabad Plain, Western Central Zagros, Iran
From an archaeological point of view, the west of Iran has provided significant cultural-social evidence from different periods of prehistory. This region, which is mainly covered by the Central Zagros Mountains, has attracted many archaeologists and numerous surveys and excavations, which have been conducted in this area since the early 20th century and especially in the middle of that century. Nevertheless, the Sarfirouzabad Plain, located in the southern part of Kermanshah province and along the southern and southeastern side of Mahidasht great plain, despite its environmental and ecological potential, has not been studied properly except for some brief visits. The results of an intensive survey conducted in this plain by an expedition from Tehran University in 2009 provides us with useful information about the history of the region. Twenty-four sites from the Late and Middle Bronze Age (Godin III Culture) have been identified. Each of these sites is introduced in the present paper and the archaeological conditions of the region during the Late and Middle Bronze Age are discussed