Investigation and Analysis in the Boroujerd’s Petroglyphs, Lorestan Province

The rock motifs are special importance in the field of art history, archaeology and anthropological studies, and they are one of the most obvious documents in showing the concepts of social archeology. Such motifs are among the oldest surviving historical and artistic works, which numerous examples of them are scattered in different places. During the archaeological exploration in the Boroujerd City in the spring and summer the year of 2016, several collections of petroglyphs (Petroglyphs and Cupules) at different distances with radius of less than 20 km from the Boroujerd City were identified. These petroglyphs are located mainly in the foothills and mountains. The petroglyphs have many motifs and themes, including human motifs (archer, rider and on foot, etc.) animal motifs (ibex, deer, dogs, etc.), geometric, symbolic motifs, inscriptions and cupules motifs. All of the studied motifs are created on separate rocks in the open air and in different sizes, individually and thematically. The research method in this paper has been the field survey as well as library studies and the use of reports, books and articles which published in this field. In this article also tries to answer the questions such as; what was the style of creating the petroglyphs? When were the Boroujerd’s Petroglyphs created? The Boroujerd’s rock motifs are comparable to which areas? The studies have shown that, most of the identified motifs in the Boroujerd City were created on the surface of the stones by methods of percussive, carving or scratching. The motifs of this collection seems to be related to different periods: due to the amount of weathering and the type of creation. Unfortunately, due to the lack of laboratory studies in the Iran, it is not possible to consider specific date for them. According to the studies, it can be said that, the motifs of this collection quantitatively and qualitatively are comparable with the rock motifs of different regions of Iran, especially the west of Iran, (Azandaryan Malayer, Argas Malayer, Divin Valley and Dostali Valley of Hamadan and also the center of Iran (petroglyphs of Timareh and Khomein) and even outside the current borders of Iran. In this article, the authors at the first are going to introduce the petroglyphs of the study area and then analyze of them.
Keywords: Lorestan Province, Boroujerd, Petroglyphs, Cupules, Human Motifs, Symbolic.
 
Introduction
The petroglyphs are the creation of man on rocky and stony canvas, which the creation of them can have numerous of material and spiritual goals, and as an art, a common language and a repetitive pattern in different parts of Iran and other parts of the world, their appearance are expressed in the form of thematic motifs of human, animal, symbolic motifs or the inscriptions with different qualities and quantities (Mohamadifar and Hemati Azandryani, 2017).
In general, the subjects of the motifs of these petroglyphs are influenced by the geographical, cultural and environmental conditions of each region, and historically, rock motifs covered the time range from the Paleolithic Period to the present day, however, the absolute dating of such motifs is difficult for a variety of reasons. In general, petroglyphs can be seen over wide geographical area; in many of the Central Asian Countries, Europe, Africa, and so on. These motifs are often engraved on the rocks in the open air and can represent specific historical events, stories and myths, identify a specific territory, or relate to specific religious rites. Although some of these motifs seems to indicate the occurrence of real events, but a number of others are completely abstract. (Vahdati, 2010: 15).
One of the most important cultural and historical evidences of the Lorestan Province is the petroglyphs, that the rock carvings identified in this area are generally colors type. They have been reported from different places such as the Dusheh Caves, Mirmalas, Houmyan Motifs, etc. (Izadpanah, 1969; Remacle et al, 2007). Obviously, the subject of rock art in the Lorestan Province, apart from the petroglyphs mentioned above, is almost unknown, and this is while in recent years, methodical studies have been conducted both in the inside and outside the borders of Iran. But, this topic has been ignored in the Lorestan Province for reasons such as lack of purposeful studies, lack of comparative history, and so on. So far, no coherent activities related to the study of rock carvings in the Lorestan Province have been carried out, and it is necessary that, the comprehensive field research with this purpose carried out on a large scale. However, in recent years, several sites have been identified and studied by the researchers (Sabzi & Hemati Azandaryani, 2017; Sabzi et al, 2018; Bahrami & Sabzi, 2019; Sabzi et al., 2015).
The Boroujerd’s rock carvings due to lack of accurate archeological research are still unknown in the region, accordingly, they have not been registered in the list of cultural heritage monuments. In the following, the authors will introduce study and analyze these petroglyphs in this region.
It should be noted that, the research method in this research was performed using field research (survey, identification, documentation and sketching) as well as library studies and in a descriptive-analytical manner will try to introduce, describe, design and in the final, compared the newly discovered petroglyphs of the Boroujerd City. As mentioned earlier, the present study seeks to answer the following questions: 1. What was the style of creating the petroglyphs? 2. When were the dates of creating the Boroujerd’s petroglyphs? 3. The Boroujerd’s petroglyphs are comparable with which area?
Research Method: The present study is kind of descriptive-analytical research and the methods of collecting information were in the field and in the library too. The field activities include identifying, study and documentaries of the petroglyphs, (photography, sketching and classification) and library studies have included the use of published reports, books and articles about this field.
 
The Text of the Paper
The rock reliefs of Boroujerd are mainly created by scraping, engraving, rubbing and cutting, which have led to the creation of different images on the rocks, although the quality and manner of creating the motifs vary on different rocks and places, and most of the examples were created by engraving, which is the most common and prevalent method of making petroglyphs. Regarding the creating style of the study motifs, it should also be stated that the style used to make them has been mostly abstract and stylized, based on the simplification of images and their components, and most of the images, like other parts of Iran, were fully depicted in a stylized and symbolic manner. The rocks on which the motifs are carved are made of schist and Phelate, whose color can be divided into the gray to dark brown spectrum. These rocks are of various sizes, large, medium and small dimensions, which are irregularly scattered on the slope of mountainsides and on both sides of the rivers. The study petroglyphs can be divided into two groups: single and collective petroglyphs; and with respect to their content, the petroglyphs can be classified into different groups, including animal and human motifs, rock inscriptions, geometric and symbolic motifs and cupules, and a high frequency of the motifs in this region, like other regions, pertains to the image of ibex in various states. In terms of dating, it should be said that the problem of dating petroglyphs is very complex and ambiguous, since motifs which are similar to these rock arts extend from the Neolithic to the Contemporary period, and scholars have not yet been able to reach a definite conclusion for dating and determining the exact age of rock reliefs. However, due to the lack of laboratory studies in Iran, it is not possible to provide an absolute dating for petroglyphs of Borujerd. 
 
Conclusion
Despite a number of archaeological surveys have been done in the Boroujerd City; but the rock carvings of this area remain unknown, and since these petroglyphs are located outdoors, they have been affected by climate and environmental change, erosion, and other human factors, that’s why many of them are being destroyed. The Boroujerd’s Petroglyphs are mostly displayed in the form of lattice motifs. Also, the motifs in these collections are created in the Two-dimensional and is not traces of 3D display and realism. The motifs of this collection include groups of animal (goats, dogs, deer, etc.), human, symbolic, geometric motifs, cupules and inscriptions and the variety of motifs in this collection shows the cultural, historical and artistic richness of the petroglyphs of this region. The Boroujerd’s Petroglyphs in terms of method of creation, type of motif and content mostly are similar to the petroglyphs of the western Iran, especially the petroglyphs of the Sofla Argas and Azandaryan of Malayer.
The Boroujerd’s Petroglyphs are mainly located in mountainous and foothill areas, in fact, they are suitable areas for livestock. The Boroujerd’s Petroglyphs all are located near the various water sources such as (natural water sources, seasonal rivers, springs, etc.) and also up-country areas. According to the location of these petroglyphs, perhaps it can be said, by caution that, the creators of these motifs were various groups such as nomads, shepherds, hunters or similar groups that were present in these areas. They have created motifs without considering artistic techniques (naturalism, 3D, etc.). The purpose of the creators of these motifs still is vague and unknown to us. Regarding the dating of these motifs, it should be noted that, due to the lack of laboratory equipment, no absolute dating has been done so far, but relative dating can be provided for them, which can have dated them from the Neolithic to the contemporary periods.