Archaeological Survey

The little Zab River in northwestern Iran rises from the mountains Piranshehr and flows from the northwest to the southeast direction to join Iraq from Alan passage. The River basin contains a large number of ancient settlements, and its lower area that is close to the Zab River has been the most interesting place for people in the Neolithic Age. An increasing population during Chalcolithic Age led to the dispersion of settlements. These sites are located in the north of this basin, in a valley and a little plain.

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.

In the early 21 st century, during an excavating of a village on Farahan plain, some remains of an important monument including part of a large brick column and several walls were discovered. For a decade, despite national registration, no scientific and comprehensive study was performed on these remains until the time when the remains captured the attention of the authors of this paper during their archaeological study of the Farahan plain. Therefore, considering two main objectives, the chronology of the discovered pieces and determining their real identity, initially, a comprehensive archaeological survey was carried out on the Fardaghan region and samples were collected from different areas of this plain; afterwards, the cultural data were typologically compared. At the next stage, historical evidence was sought in written sources using a historical approach in order to determine the identity of the site. The results indicate that the current building belonged to the Sassanid period that has been also used during the Islamic era after a functional change. It is highly probable that this building is the one mentioned in some written sources such as Ibn Yaghoubi’s Mokhtaser Alboldan . In early Islamic centuries, this fire temple was changed into a fortified castle.

The Qazvin Plain and northern Alborz heights overlooking it are one of the important centers for the development and evolution of cultures in the central Iranian plateau. As we witness the continuous growth and flourishing of civilizations in different periods of time, from prehistoric to the present era in this geographical domain, this could have resulted in favorable environmental conditions such as climate, soil, vegetation and animal husbandry, as well as a suitable geopolitical condition (trade and communications) with far and adjacent cultures. Considering the desirable archeological background of the aforementioned area as well as its complexity, the expansion and evolutionary process of settlements, the paper, through the existing archeological framework intends to take into account cultural activities of communities from the formation of the Safavid rule to the end of the Qajar era in southern foothills of central Alborz, north of Qazvin Plain. In other words, the main purpose of this study is to determine the effect of the transit location and native culture of the proposed area on the formation and development of places, sites and production of cultural materials of late Islamic centuries as well as awareness of closeness and possible cultural relations with each of its adjacent geographical and cultural areas. The research method includes a methodological study of archeology with the application of a historical approach where the most important and documented data is to identify sites, documentary and pottery collection and their study is in a specific and common framework of this science.

Central Asia is a key unit of archaeological studies of the Ancient Near East and an issue for important questions such as primary states, Aryan people immigration has a unique role in archaeological activities. Considering the geographical location of Dargaz (Dargaz) Plain at the periphery of Central Asia, it is a vital area in the archaeology of the northeastern part of the Iranian Central Plateau and Central Asia. The region is ideally situated to research regional relationships and inter-regional interactions between those cultural-geographical regions due to its ecological potential and geographic location. Archaeologically, to comprehend Cultural Similarities in Dargaz Plain, many studies and surveys have been done since the beginning of the 20th Century. However, because of the lack of more detailed excavation in this area, the quality of cultural material of Central Asia and the Iranian Central Plateau is reassessing continuously. The first archaeological survey by Kohl and Heskel in 1978 reveals the similarities between Central Asia and this area. The Following works were done for the sake of making known the prehistoric Sites, their interaction with neighboring regions, and their ecosystem but it remains incomplete. Twenty-one prehistoric settlements have remained in the area, dating from the Neolithic to the Iron Age I/III, according to archaeological studies carried out during these years. The majority of the locations that have been found are the ruins of dispersed villages and seasonal camps that were scattered throughout the plain, as well as at inaccessible heights and other locations. With an emphasis on the material culture, particularly the local ceramic traditions and the settlement patterns of the prehistoric site, this current work investigates the connection and interconnectedness of the Dargaz Plain and proposes novel prospects for future works. A study of the Dargaz Plain may shed new light on the social and cultural history of a larger region.

Throughout the history, one of the concerns of human beings has been death. The death and the rituals associated with it have created enduring traditions in human societies, with each having its own unique rite based on prevailing cultural and historical characteristics. One of the important traditions related to death is burial practices with varying rituals. Different faiths and religions recommend different commands and traditions for the disposal of a deceased body, with one being burial in the ground. Burial methods, too, differ in different religions, and throughout history, various methods of burial have been performed based on the prevalent rituals and religions of the time. In Zoroastrian, due to the reverence of the four elements (water, earth, fire, and air), any direct contact with a human corpse, which is considered impure, is forbidden. Followers of the Zoroastrian faith have adopted various methods for burying their deceased, including placing them in astōdān (ossuary), towers of silence, and constructing large stone graves (dakhmas/ cairn burials). This paper introduces the cairn burials (khereft-khaneh) and an astōdān (sotōdān) that were found during the archaeological survey of Harat district of Yazd province in 2021. In the archaeological survey of Harat, various cultural and historical sites from different periods were identified. Most of the identified sites in this survey belonged to the Islamic era, but some are referred to historical period, such as cairn burials and an astōdān (ossuary), which will be discussed in this study. Based on comparative studies and similar burial methods found in central Iran, Fars, and Kerman, these sites are dated back to the historical period (Parthian/Sasanian).