Explaining of the Concepts and Social Symbols (Social Structure) of the Iron Age Societies; Case Study: Tabriz Blue Mosque Cemetery

Social Archaeology is a branch of Archaeology that discusses on data from the perspective of sociology, and studies the structure of past societies and their evolutionary process. In the Iron Age, due to the prevalence of the cemeteries in most parts of Iran, discussions about the kind of community, beliefs and religion of the people of that societies are also gaining strength. In these cemeteries, the structure of the graves and objects inside them (grave goods) has concepts and symbols that can resolve some of the existing confusion about the culture of the peoples of the Iron Age. The cemetery of Blue Mosque (locally called Göy Meçid or Kabood Mosque) is one of the most important of these cemeteries. The objects which obtained from this cemetery graves due to the variety in type and the difference in theire Abundance, represent the social distinctions of buried persons. Comparison of the structure of graves and of the graves goods indicated that some of them have more valuable and objects than other graves, and as a result their social status is high, while in some graves no objects have been placed. Based on these cases, they can indicated to socially ranked and referred to the criteria used to determine the rank of individuals in their lifetime.
Keywords: Iron Age, Blue Mosque Cemetery, Concepts and Symbols, Social Rankings.
 
Introduction
One of the ways to identify the social status of individuals is to study the physical remains of humans, including their skeleton and the objects buried with them. The present research, which is aimed at analyzing the burial patterns in the cemetery of the Blue Mosque of Tabriz, seeks to answer the following question: What are the indications for the existence of a ranking system or social classes in the Iron Age cemetery of the Blue Mosque of Tabriz? The hypothesis raised in relation to the above question is that the differences in the architectural structure of the graves in terms of form and materials, diversity and multiplicity of objects and their arrangement within the graves are indications for the relative classification of social ranks in this cemetery. The research method in this study was a field study in the first place, and in the second place, it has been attempted to study the collection by a descriptive-statistical method based on the collected and documented data obtained from the first stage as well as library sources. And then, with a social archeology approach, it was attempted to answer the research question that defines the social classes in the cemetery of the Blue Mosque.
 
Theoretical Foundations of the Research
Social archeology is a branch of archeology that studies the social structure and organization of past societies and their evolutionary process. Social archeology examines how social and political structures are formed from basic units such as clan and group. Social groups and classes exhibit different attitudes and behaviors with regard to people’s age, class type, gender, wealth, power and social status that these behaviors undergo changes in the evolutionary process of society (Grant & et al. 2002: 236).  
The most important and common models and methods for reconstruction of social structure can be stated as follows:
1- Reconstruction of the social structure based on settlement sites, residences and architectural remains.
2- Reconstruction of the social structure based on the remaining objects, tools, and artifacts.
3- Reconstruction of the social structure based on graves, burial methods, contents of the graves and materials.
Reconstruction of the social structure according to study, examination and inference based on burial patterns and contents of graves is a method that is considered in almost all schools of archeology despite differences in the type of inference (Yadollahi, 2004: 20).  
In this method, anthropologists consider burial features such as objects inside or around the graves, the shape or size of the tombs, the general design or location of the cemetery; and then accordingly, the social class or status of those who are buried is taken into account. Therefore, the location of the graves, the objects inside the graves, the pre-funeral rituals and abundant types of burials all imply the differences existing in a society (Pollock 1999: 206). In determining the class or ranking of individuals, the role of the quantity and quality of objects inside the graves as well as their possible role in determining social hierarchy should also be taken into account. In this context, the material of the objects, abundance or scarcity of the materials that the objects are made of, and the time it takes to construct the objects must be considered (Dark, 2000: 117). 
 
The Cemetery of the Blue Mosque of Tabriz
The Iron Age cemetery of the Blue Mosque of Tabriz is located in the old texture of Tabriz city which was discovered in 1997 by accident and after construction activities. The area of this site is estimated to be 28290 square meters. According to the study of the structure and status of the objects within the graves, it can be concluded that various factors have been implicated in different burial methods, the most important of which are: the development of burial traditions in different eras, the age, gender, and social status of individuals and so on.
In terms of structure and architecture, the graves are divided into three groups: 1. Simple pit-shape graves 2- Graves with a horseshoe structure (made of stone, adobe and clay wall). 3- Graves with adobe structures exclusively for children (Hejebri Nobari, 2001: 5). All skeletons are buried as embryos or with a squatted gesture and the bodies and faces of the corpses are placed in different directions. Next to the corpses, a variety of funeral gifts, including 511 pottery wares, 397 metal objects, and about 2000 stone beads, have been obtained.
 
Conclusion
The most important method that can be used to investigate the social status of individuals based on burial in the cemetery of the Blue Mosque of Tabriz is to consider the quantity and quality of burial objects, in such a way that those burials which are rich in terms of objects are often regarded as the graves of wealthy individuals with a superior social base.
In this cemetery, there is not a significant relationship between the structure of the graves and the status of the people, and one cannot discern the difference of the individuals’ position according to the structure and dimensions of the graves. 
In the cemetery of the Blue Mosque, women, like men, had equal privileges based on the quantity and quality of the burial objects. Therefore, we are faced with a society in which women have the same social privilege as men, and perhaps they have been higher than men. In some cases, objects such as bronze daggers or arrows are seen in the graves of women just like men, perhaps indicating their role in the society or their special status in relation to others and these objects may have been placed in their graves in order to protect them. Children and infants in this site have had the privilege of being buried with objects as adults.