Pottery

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.

Archaeologically, the Roudbar plain is one of the richest and most outstanding regions in the south east of Iran. Tomb-e Kharg, is the largest site in this region. The site is a multi-period one, but based on the surface material, the main settlement belongs to the historical period. Some things remain unknown about these periods in south-eastern Iran and lack of any reference to them in the authentic authorities, makes this region necessary to be aimed of a particularly urgent archeological research as an underlying and reliable reference. To do this, a topographic map of the mound, as well as the grid map was laid out, in which the region was divided into 10×10m 2 regions. By means of simple random sampling method, 10% of the squares were then sampled. In the light of the study on the collected cultural material, the main settlement dates back to periods ranging from the first millennium BC up to the 8 th or 9 th AD centuries. Moreover, there are some items of painted grey ware, suggesting that this mound leads back to 3 th millennium BC.

A study of hidden and obvious angles of Iranian works of art, including the discovered artifacts of the ancient Marlik region, shows the rich heritage of this land. The ancient hill of Marlik, despite its tools and utensils, and especially its clay sculptures, is still explored due to its special elegance and beauty. The aim of this study is to have a measure of fit and linear range in Marlik pottery and to get acquainted with its hidden angles. In this regard, the question arises as to how the use of golden proportions and the visual element of the line (as a range) appear in dimensions and sizes of the clay figures. In this regard, 6 index statues have been excavated from Marlik Cemetery and the results showed that 3 clay statues follow the golden ratio of √2, √3, √4 and √5. And they have a good linear range and balance, exaggeration and harmony can be seen in them. In this process, the other 3 statues are not attractive in terms of size and dimensions and do not have the elegance of construction and design. In addition, the two factors of proportionality and linear expansion are in complete unity, and the role of positive and negative space to achieve balance is obvious. The research method here is descriptive-analytical and in the data analysis, the golden proportion approach has been used, as well as the collection of information is documented.

Tis was one of the most important commercial ports of Iran in the early and middle centuries of the Islamic era. It played an important role in maritime or caravan export and import. Not only is this port less mentioned in historical sources, but also little research has been done on it. One of the archaeological findings of this region is various ceramics from Islamic periods, which are distributed on different parts of the site. Except for brief references in a few sources, there has been no independent research on ceramics of Islamic periods of Tis. Accordingly, the main purpose of this study is to know the economic and social life of Tis port in the Islamic era through study, analysis, and chronology of pottery. The method of this research is descriptive-analytical. The information is collected through field and library studies. According to research, the ceramics of the Islamic periods of Tis, probably belong to the 7-17 th centuries, but most of them date back to the 9 th -12 th centuries. During this period, various types of glazed and unglazed ceramics were used in this area, some of which, such as unglazed red ware and Celadon, were probably imported from near and far areas such as India, China, and others like a group of Sgraffito were domestically produced.

In Sistan, with an area of 8117 square meters, some 1660 archaeological sites have been explored during two phases of field surveys. The National Geographical Organization of the Armed Forces of Iran has divided Sistan into 22 geographical districts. The south of Qale Rustam Domain with an area of 295 square meters was the aim of second phase of investigation that could discover 280 archaeological sites. Most of them belong to Bronze Age. The site number 152 in the South of Qale Rustam Domain, which is located near the Iran-Afghanistan border with an area of 27000 square meters, was formed simultaneously with Shahr-e Sokhta. During the investigation, two stone objects resembling handbags, as well as a plenty of potsherds were found. The potsherds found at the surface level, both simple and designed are of the types found in phases 5-8 of Shahr-e Sokhta, which date back to the first half of the third millennium B.C. The specific function of these bags is still unclear, but seems to be weights or scale. However, based on chronological studies, these bags, like the other cultural proofs found around them especially pottery, can be attributed to the first half of the third millennium B.C.

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. 

A regular hexagon is one of the shapes introduced in Plane Geometry and refers to a hexagon with equal sides wherein the size of each angle is 120 degrees. This geometric shape, which can be quickly drawn today, was constructed over a long period in the millennia BC In the Late Neolithic period in Mesopotamia, the primary geometric shapes, including triangles, quadrilaterals, arcs, and circles, were additionally painted on the surface of pottery ware. Naturally, these shapes had been initially drawn by hand, and the sides of the polygons were not comprised of straight lines, or the circles had not been drawn perfectly. However, in the Chalcolithic age, geometric shapes moved away from handmade forms and approached standard ones. This standardization was not possible without drawing tools. In the meantime, the role of compasses or other objects with a similar use was of utmost importance because drawing a circle with such tools paved the way for drawing regular polygons. In fact, from the Late Neolithic, handmade triangles and arcs in the Near East, the first regular hexagon in the late second or the early first millennium emerged over several thousand years. Constructing this geometric shape with the help of standard circles and arcs has been well documented in the Near Eastern archaeological evidence. On the other hand, regular hexagons have been attributed to the second half of the first millennium in the history of mathematics. Therefore, this study reflected on the construction process of this geometric shape and dated its drawing hundreds of years back.

Khalifeh Kandi village is located in the southeast of the Sahand mountain range and northwest of Hashtrud province. Investigation at these sites started in 2013 and continued until 2015. Obtained evidence included a variety of potteries, carved stones, and caves from the historical and Islamic eras. in this paper an attempt has been made to introduce and analyze cultural and historical founds. The result shows that most of the surveyed sites and places around Khalifeh Kandi, in terms of pottery types, belonged to the Islamic period and rarely, artifacts from the pre-Islamic period were observed. The settlements identified in the area under study are mostly located in w slopes by the river and shallow valleys, and only one of these archaeological sites was observed in flat and elevated lands. probably this site was used in certain seasons of the year. Glazed and simple pottery from the Islamic period and rough pottery that was produced in local workshops are among the artifacts observed in the surveyed sites.