سید مهدی موسوی کوهپر

The archaeological site of Afalleh is located in the north of Khachak village, in the intermountain plain of Kojour, in southern end of Nowshahr District, Mazandaran Province. Drawing on the available evidence, the site is dated to the Parthian period. Afalleh is clearly an archaeo- metallurgical center in the area, and by virtue of its relatively large size (more than 5 ha) might be one of the most significant and/or important archaeo- metallurgical sites of the Parthian period in the entire region. Large and dense scatters of slag and kiln wasters, especially in southern and western quadrants, hint at extensive and/or long-termed archaeo- metallurgical activities at the site. The surface slag could be divided into two groups of sponge and dense with a dark color near to black. Most slags are seen on southern part of the site. A stone building is partially exposed in western side of the site, where a dirt road has cut a part of the archaeological deposits. Macroscopic and microscopic analyses indicate that the slags are rich of fayalite and wustite, ferrous silicate and iron oxide minerals, respectively. Inside one of these slags a thick prill of iron is observed that has been largely replaced with secondary iron oxides. This observation indicates an indirect reduction of iron from its ore-producing carbonized iron (steel and cast iron)-and refers to its separation from silicate melt more probably outside of furnace. In this paper we describe the site and data has produced concerning the probable extent of the smelting activities, this is a comparative study and is a discussion on possible provenance of ore deposits.

This study aims to present qualitative and quantitative explanations of eight kinds of charcoal discovered from an archeological site at Tepe Kelar in northern Iran. The excavations were carried out in 2006 and 2008. In addition to cultural remains, different kinds of charcoals were discovered hence, their descriptive analysis provided valuable information about culture and ecology of the region during the prehistoric period. To analyze the samples, thin transverses and their radial sections were prepared and analyzed using Electron Microscope, and specifications of the vessels, tissue, wood rays, and other elements of them were measured and recorded. The identification of the woods was initially conducted through the microscopic properties of hardwood and the findings were then compared with the Atlas of woods in North of Iran. The taxonomic identification using the wood anatomy showed that four samples belong to the genus Fagus Orientalis Lipsky 1898, one of which belongs to genus Corylus Avellana 1753 and the remaining three samples were not recognizable due to their small size. In the third trench, ruins of a metal melting kiln were discovered together with large pieces of charcoals. It is likely that wood species identified in this study were used to melt metals in the Bronze and Iron Ages.

North western Iran is one of the main focal points of Mannaean sites for reconstruction of this historical period. Discovery of the sites such as Tepe Qalaichi, Zendan-i soleiman, Tepe Rabat, Qal’e Bardineh and others in this region prove this claim. Tepe Bardeh-Konte, on the southern side of Uremia lake watershed, is located in Mahabad. This site with rock-cut structures including stairs, tunnel, pits and cut-walls is situated near the Fakhrigah rock-tomb. Studying and analyzing the pottery data from this region demonstrate that the site belongs to an Iron Age III settlement; the pottery collection from the site is similar to those from Mannaean sites such as Tepe Qalaychi, Tepe Rabat, Tepe Ziwiye, Qal’e Bardineh, Zendan-i Soliyman and Kul Tarike. This article is to report the first archaeological investigation results from the first season of survey and stratigraphy of Tepe Bardeh-Konte which yielded a Mannaean settlement period. 

The first season of survey at Qeshm, carried out during the winter of 2006, resulted in the identification of nine sites from the Parthian and Sasanian periods. The surface pottery from these sites suggests their trade and cultural relations with contemporary sites in the southern Persian Gulf and other areas. For instance, the Parthian and Sasanian glazed types in Qeshm Island are closely related materials found from Khuzestan as well as northern and southern coasts of the Persian Gulf, including ed-Dur, Suhar, Kush, Failaka and Qalat Bahrain. Parthian painted ware reveals close similarities to monochrome and bichrome painted pottery of southeastern Iran, Oman coasts and the southern Persian Gulf, specifically ed-Dur, Suhar, Kush and Tel-i-Abrak. The so-called Indian Red Polished Ware is the other diagnostic type widespread in the northern and southern coasts of the Persian Gulf from the middle Parthian up to the early Islamic period. The material was being widely produced in the Indian region (Gujarat) and Indus, and exported to different places around the Persian Gulf. The Coarse Black Ware (ceramic noir epaise) with decorative raised bands recorded in Qeshm compares with coarse-black material from the southern Persian Gulf, also occurring at sites such as ed-Dur and Abu Dhabi Islands. Plain, common Parthian and Sasanian pottery from Qeshm shows parallels with known materials of this period in the northern and southern Persian Gulf.

The demonstration of female figures on Sasanian silver vessels was an interesting subject to Sasanian silversmiths which caused much dispute among the scholars over whose character the female figure represents. Are they representations of the goddess Anahita or members of her cult? Is there any connection between them and the cult of Asiatic Dionysus? The other question that arises is whether they are secular objects or bearing a religious significance. This paper aims to review previous studies and then, on the basis of an iconographical study and also referring to the Sasanian religious text, present a new interpretation of themes.