درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

The Sasanian, the last Iranian dynasty before the Arab invasion of Iran, overthrew the Parthians and ruled the region for more than four centuries between 224-651 AD. One of the structural characteristics of the Sasanian state was the establishment of an official religion and the concentration of political and religious sovereignty. The official recognition of the Zoroastrian religion led the Sasanian kings and priests to build numerous fire temples in various parts of Iran, and many archaeological evidences of Sasanian era burials have been found, which are intertwined with art. The kings enriched the art of this period by creating rock carvings to display various matters. A rock carving in the Sasanian style was accidentally discovered a few years ago at a local airport in England. When this discovery was reported in the early days of 2023, the main question was whether it was an independent rock carving that had been detached from the mountain or whether it belonged to a structure? Based on the library studies and comparisons made with other works in this article, it seems that the newly discovered Sasanian rock carving from Stansted Airport in London was likely part of a stone structure similar to a fire altar or a Astōdān (one type of Ossuary), and it most probably dates back to the early Sasanian period.

Ziwiye, as one of the key sites for Iran’s North West Iron Age (Median kingdom), has many masterpieces kept in different museums and a long list of publications. The main part of this list consists of monographs that are written based on one or more limited objects from an out of context collection. There are few articles that comprehensively include the findings “attributed Ziwiye” and “came from excavation”. However, many articles have been published about Zavieh’s findings, but parts of this collection still remain unknown and do not receive enough attention. The corpus of bone arrowheads is one of them, some of which were found during archaeological excavations while others came to museums from antiquities dealers. These include: the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Musée du Louvre in Paris, the National Museum of Iran in Tehran, and the Sanandaj Archaeological Museum. This article aims to introduce and categorize 51 bone arrowheads. Some of these were registered as ivories, but our research concluded that all of these were made of bone. In few instances, the production manner prevented the proper identification of bone versus ivory. Another examined point in this research is whether such arrowheads were produced for actual warfare or for prestige and symbolic use in ceremonial events considering their bone material. The examined samples from other sites show that bone can be hard enough to penetrate game and human body even with light protection such as archery. Bone for making arrowheads was used for hunting big games and some tribes still use them.

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.