The Archeological Evidence of the Ahmad Baiglo Dam, Meshkinshahr

The Ahmad Baiglo dam will built on the Meshkin Čai River located in Ahmad Baiglo sector of Meshkinshahr country, Ardabil province, northwestern Iran. With the support of the Iranian Center for Archaeological Research (ICAR), archaeological survey of this area conducted in summer 2009. The investigation was concentrated along the both banks of Meshkin Čai River near the village, over a stretch of 800×200 m. The studying area and Meshkinshahr, prior to the threat posed by the construction of the dam, had been much studied and was one of the most known reaches of the North of Iran from archaeological perspective. Previous archaeological works in this region consisted of an archaeological reconnaissance in 1889-1890 by De. Morgan, J. then C. A. Burney in 1977 Mashkinshahr survey, W. Kleiss and S. Kroll’s investigations in 1979, excavations at Shahr Yeri by A. R. Hozabri Nobari since 2005, excavation at 1st and 2nd millennium B.C. cemetery of Khoramabad in 2011 and 2012 and finally K. Hajizadeh excavation at 1st and 2nd millennium B.C. cemetery of Ghezel Ghaieh in 2014. In this zone, the human settlements at most periods have been focused on the rivers and water resources and hence the construction of the Ahmad Baiglo dam and the resulting 16000 square meters’ reservoir will cause immense damage to the archaeological heritage of the region. The project set out to recover as much information on ancient settlement in the region as time allowed through the study of all remains up to the present-day inhabitants. Rescue activities, multiplicity, extent, spatial distribution of the sites and introduce different cultural periods of the region and their continuity and discontinuance was the other aims of this project. Intensive walking survey of the region has revealed twelve new sites, which encompass a temporal range from Paleolithic through Islamic periods. There Twelve archaeological sites have been recorded, resulting, in a total rewriting of the history of occupation of this hitherto little known region over immediately pre-modern period as well as documenting some aspects of the life of the the last middle Paleolithic. Dating for these sites were performed according to typology and comparative studies based on collected superficial materials. Archaeological materials have been classified in three general groups; Prehistoric, Historic, and Islamic. Among the most significant results is the recognition of the entrance of this region by the middle Paleolithic population (sites number 3 and 5). None of the sites produced any pre-or non-ceramic evidence but two of them (5 and 8) show the Chalcolithic assemblage with the common pottery tradition in the northwest of Iran such as Dalma. Iron Age trace is recognidzed in four sites (sites number 3, 5, 7 and 8) and historic and Islamic periods have the most number of sites.    Among the material recovered is a large collection of human burial allowing a detailed study of the people who lived in the region in the past as well as the study of their settlements and artefacts? The discovery of two Kurgans (sites number 4 and 10), highlights the importance of the area in a focal point for megalithic and Kurgan culture and tradition in northwest Asia.  The distribution of the sites and their positions compare to the Meshkin Čai River indicate that this river has played an important role for the populations who used to live in this geographical region during the prehistoric and historic times. The investigation is now complete but the considerable amount of material and data and excavation of the major sites is currently being studied leading to full publication of the results.