Archeologists discover 10 cemeteries in northern Iran
Over 10 burials in urn and dustbin textures were discovered in Qarah Tappeh Cemetery in the Sagzabad region of Buin Zahra, Qazvin Province.
Head of the excavation team in the area, Mostafa Dah Pahlevan said that the current round of archeological studies focused on the newly-found cemetery to determine the sequence of the burials and develop a better understanding of the interment methods during the periods under study, reported IRNA quoting the Research Institute of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHHTO).
“After 45 days of excavations, we came across significant findings in the entire trench, as well as the remains of a number of adobe-stratigraphy structures,” he said.
The archeologist contended that the existence of a large adobestratigraphy structure in the Iron Age cemetery as ambiguous, adding that the burials took place in three layers of the adobe structure.
Susa, also called Shoush, is located in the southwestern province of Khuzestan at an altitude of 300 meters above sea level. The city is located 215km north of Abadan.
The ancient city of Susa, capital of ancient Elam, was an important and thriving city in its heyday. Scientific excavations, undertaken by French archeological missions in 1891 and continued until the present time, have brought to light many artifacts and relics of a prehistoric civilization, irantravelingcenter. com reported.
For instance, copper objects and utensils discovered in the lowest stratum, have led to ascribing this layer to the Copper Age, while the existence of yellowcolored earthenware, decorated with animal motifs and geometric designs show evidence of the existence of a pottery-making industry in Iran, some 3,000 to 2,500 years before Christ.
In the second stratum of this Elamite city, a great number of objects made of stone, copper and other metals, and some cylinders made of bone have been discovered, while the higher strata have revealed kiln-fired, colored and decorated earthenware, metal arms, cylinders, copper pins, as well as human and animal figures.
The historic site of Susa is divided into four sections according to their antiquity and archeological importance. In all these sections, ample relics including pottery, arms, ornamental objects, metalwork, bronze articles, as well as tablets, bearing traces of pictographic writing, have been discovered.
Similarly, numerous clay and stone tablets dating back to 1,700 BCE have been unearthed in Susa. The texts inscribed on these tablets are usually of documentary, legal or contractual nature.
Excavation history
The site was studied in 1836 by Henry Rawlinson and then by A. H. Layard.
Some modest excavation was conducted by William Loftus, who identified it as Susa, in 1851.
Marcel-auguste Dieulafoy and Jane Dieulafoy began the first French excavations in 1885 and 1886.
Jacques de Morgan conducted major excavations from 1897 until 1911. These efforts continued under Roland de Mecquenem until 1914, at the beginning of World War I.
French work at Susa resumed after the war, led by De Mecquenem, continuing until World War II in 1940. Archeological results from the later period were very thinly published and attempts are underway to remedy this.
Roman Ghirshman took over direction of the French efforts in 1946, after the end of the war. Together with his wife Tania Ghirshman, he continued his studies until 1967.
The Ghirshmans concentrated on excavating a single part of the site, the hectare-sized Ville Royale, taking it all the way down to bare earth. The pottery found at the various levels enabled a stratigraphy to be developed for Susa.
During the 1970s, excavations resumed under Jean Perrot.
Early Settlement
Archeologists have dated the first traces of an inhabited Neolithic village to 7000 BCE. Evidence of a painted-pottery civilization has been dated to 5000 BCE.
Painted ceramic vessels from Susa in the earliest first style are a late, regional version of the Mesopotamian Ubaid ceramic tradition that spread across the Near East during the fifth millennium BCE.
In urban history, Susa is one of the oldest-known settlements of the region. The foundation of a settlement there occurred as early as 4395 BCE (a calibrated radiocarbon date). At this stage, it was already very large for the time about 15 hectares.
The founding of Susa corresponded with the abandonment of nearby villages. Potts suggests that the settlement may have been founded to try to reestablish the previously destroyed settlement at Chogha Mish.
Earlier, Chogha Mish was also a very large settlement, and it featured a similar massive platform that was later built in Susa.
Another important settlement in the area is Chogha Bonut that was discovered in 1976.