Sinus Persicus

Donald Scott Whitcomb was born on 27 April 1930. He was a revered scholar whose contributions to the field of Islamic Archaeology especially in the Persian Gulf region were immeasurable. He was research associated in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilization at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago since the beginning of 1981. Whitcomb then served as an Associate at this Institute, since 1990. His Master’s thesis dealt with the Proto-Elamite Period at Tall-i Ghazir, Iran despite the fact that his expertise was in Islamic Archaeology.

Due to its specific location, the Persian Gulf has been at the center of attention throughout Iran’s history. Apart from commercial ships that passed through this strategic waterway, the Persian Gulf turned into a major point for the emergence and export of various thoughts and religions from one place to another in the region and beyond. In addition to historical texts, burial practices and rites seem important enough to evaluate and assess religious tendencies of the people who lived in this area. Among these rituals, those belonging to Zoroastrians on the edge of the Persian Gulf are of immense importance, which include some known samples found in Khark Island, Siraf Port, and Bushehr’s Shoghab. Man-made caves located on the Persian Gulf shores near the Parsian (=Gavbandi) next to cultural remnants of Islamic periods called “Javad Al-Aemeh Fishing Port” near the Bostanu Village help us know this kind of architecture. It seems that Bostanu caves served as rock-cut tombs and were included in the burial tradition of the Sassanian period that was also used in the Islamic period. Also, the location of Bostanu can be matched with the ancient Apsaneh and take its history back to the era of Alexander of Macedonia.  

Bardak-e Siāh is one of the important archaeological sites in Bushehr province. Recently, archaeological researches about the Achaemenid site of Bardak-e Siāh in Bushehr, under the supervision of Ismail Yaghmai, have been published. This article reviews the book entitled A Hypothesis of the True Origin of Achaemenids Based on Archaeological Excavations of Bardak-e Siāh Palace, Dashtestan, Doroudgah Village.

Khark is one the very important islands in the Persian Gulf and considered to be a vital link for commercial ships passing through this strategic waterway since the ancient time. Some researches dealing with archaeological and historical significance of the island have already been carried out but more efforts are needed to unearth hidden truth, including archeological finds from there. The current paper aims to review a book entitled The Persian Gulf Khark: The Island’s Untold Story by Willem Floor & D. T. Potts.