درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

In the north of Ilam province, there are vast plains surrounded by rugged and forested mountains. Until many years ago, other than the Hollailan Plain that was examined by a Danish archaeological team, other regions of Ilam province remain unknown in terms of Paleolithic research. However, several sites from this period have been identified and introduced in recent years thanks to new studies and researches. In 2003, the author conducted a survey of the mountainous and forested areas of the Intermountain Plain of Aseman Abad for the first time. During the course of that survey, sites, and settlements from different periods were identified and studied. The results showed that the slopes and caves of this region have evidence from the Lower Paleolithic to the Upper Paleolithic periods and even later periods. In the current article, the author examines a cave and an open site located in the vicinity of the aforementioned plain, which, considering the presence of chert and flint rock formations on its surface level, as well as scattered remains near these rocks, appears to have been a place for obtaining stone and making tools during the Paleolithic era.

The Parthian Empire was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient times and reigned in Iran for almost 500 years. There have been many books or articles written on Parthians over the past years; however, in recent years, research on this empire has intensified. The Parthians: The Forgotten Empire by Uwe Ellerbrook, was published in 2021. In this book, Ellerbrook has investigated all aspects of the Parthian kingdom and goes beyond the political history of the Parthians to familiarize the readership with the archaeology, history, culture, religion, art, and society of the Parthians.

The Sasanian era is one of the important periods of Iranian history and archeologists and historians have come up with many books and articles on this period. Sasanian Persia, Between Rome and the Steppes of Eurasia, is a new book that also includes articles in this regard, edited by Eberhard W. Sauer and published by the University of Edinburgh Press.

The current study tries to discuss a Golden Bowl with four-headed lion which is kept at the Mostazafan Foundation’s Cultural Institution of Museum. In addition to minor cracks and fractures at several places on the body, the cylindrical rim of the bowl has also been slightly altered and deviated from its original form, making it difficult to distinguish the lower part of it and the base. As can be seen, its bottom design is adorned with five circles, with one being a water lily with twelve petals. In this article, the author studies this bowl and based on iconography, argues that this was related to the Achaemenid period.

In 1994, it was reported that a group of smugglers had been arrested while excavating the hills of Hossein Abad, south of Susa, about 800m south of an area called Siahchal (Donjon). That excavation led to the revelation of half of a stone coffin or a sarcophagus and eventually led to the discovery of two more sarcophagi, which were located 2.5m from each other. The first sarcophagus was constructed in the form of a tomb with bricks of lion stamp patterns. Both sarcophagi are made of sandstones. The mine of these stones does not appear to have existed in Susa. However, the older fabric of Susa had instances of a sand mass, with underground cellars created inside these stones. Hence, the stones from which the sarcophagi were built could probably relate to Susa. No objects or human skeletal representing burial remnants were recovered from inside of the sarcophagi; however, out of Sarcophagus No. 1, some pieces of earthenware and perfume containers (Alabaster) were found. The bricks used in Tomb No. 1 were bearing lion patterns, as the pieces of earthenware and marble perfume bottles, numerous examples of which were reported from there, demonstrate they could reasonably be attributed to the Achaemenid dynasty.  

Bullas are usually a bit of inscribed clay in different shapes and sizes that were made to stamp out goods. They were applied at a time when bullas were still soft and wet so that the owners of the goods could stamp them depending on their necessity and importance. Sealing imprints could be seen on bullas, with each bearing images, symbols, and inscriptions indicating or in possession of someone authorized to stamp on respective products. The discovery of these cultural materials during archaeological surveys brought to the fore the economic, cultural, religious, and political activities of the region in ancient times. Further study and research in this field can respond to many ambiguities and historical questions. The current paper is based on field surveys and library materials and aims to introduce, study, and compare Tal-i Gerdooha clay bullas discovered in Eqlid County. Based on images and inscriptions, bullas scrolls were divided into two groups and potentially belonged to the Sasanian period.

Bashkard is a mountainous hinterland in south-eastern Iran where the two cultural regions -HalīlRūd and Jāzmūriyān-, make it outstanding. In addition to their location, surface finds around the village of Ahven in this county -in particular, the site numbered 044- indicate a chronicle of human settlements and the existence of cultural-trade interactions with HalīlRūd and Jāzmūriyān. The sampled surface potsherds and a few other cultural materials (decorative beads and shells and bronze objects -especially, round and quadrangle stamp seals) there belong to Chalcolithic and Bronze Ages. In terms of the paste colors, the potsherds represent two main groups: orange and gray. The other colors (buff, brown, and reddish gray) are less common. They are decorated with geometrical, plant, and animal motives as well as bold horizontal wavy and straight bands, and incised/scratched lines (perhaps with a sharp item such as a comb); often, one of these techniques and in some cases, both are applied on the potsherds. In terms of form (rim, neck, shoulder, handle, spout, wall/body, pedestal, and bottom) they are classified into commonly used vessels such as bowls, small jugs and jars, tumblers/beakers, and small pots. Exceptionally, a shallow tray and gray pottery of rectangular shape (probably a mold) have been recovered from the surface. Their comparison with well-known southeastern sites shows that Ahven could have predominantly acted as the trade-cultural route of between southeastern establishments and the northern and southern coasts of the Persian Gulf. The author’s archaeological survey of the region is the first attempt to ascertain Chalcolithic and the Bronze Age cultural materials as presented in this article.   

In a survey carried out in the Sadrabad area of ​​Zarandieh in June 2020, in addition to the whole village of Sadrabad, its satellite areas were also examined and identified, which led to remarkable results in the archaeological studies of the Iranian plateau, which in addition to other archaeological survey, metal slags were also studied and analyzed there. Slag is the residue of minerals from the smelting, which occurs naturally as a molten silicate or as a mixture of several silicate minerals with compounds of oxides, sulfides, and metals. To detect metal minerals in slag, it is necessary to prepare a polished section from the samples in order to identify its  type . The silicate minerals in the slag are studied with  passing light using a thin section. Gazanak Zarandieh Tepe is located 85 km from Tehran and 75 km from Saveh in Sadrabad Vilage in Zarandieh city of Markazi province. The oldest settlement phase identified in this area is Neolithic (or Pre-pottery Neolithic) and the newest period identified is related to the Safavid era. In this survey, we obtained evidence of smelting and processing of copper, which included pure native copper and slag from smelting of this metal, which by integrating them for laboratory studies, especially the petrographic elemental analysis, which resulted in amazing results. The purpose of petrographic testing on study samples is to identify the components of the slag, the type of material extracted and, if possible, the host rock mineral. Since the study area lacks Chalcolithic age, and the abundance of plum ware, which appeared in the context of Cheshmeh Ali pottery and the transition period according to the speculation of the 2021 season, led us to the question that melting and extraction copper metal in the center of the Iranian plateau has an older history than the dates presented in this article.