نوع مقاله : مقاله پژوهشی
نویسندگان
1 دکتری باستانشناسی، پژوشگر آزاد، ایران
2 کارشناسی ارشد باستانشناسی، پژوشگر آزاد، ایران
چکیده
کلیدواژهها
موضوعات
عنوان مقاله [English]
نویسندگان [English]
Abstract
Piranshahr Plain contains evidence of almost continuous occupation of human populations from prehistoric times to the present. The popularity of the plain stems from the existence of permanent rivers such as Little Zab and its fertile soil suitable for agriculture. In recent years, due to the control of the boundary waters, several dams have been constructed, including Kani Shinka in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. Girdi Sheytan is one of the five archaeological sites excavated as part of the rescue archaeological plan related to Kani Shinka Dam. The primary goal of the excavation was the preliminary evaluation of the site’s strata to develop a long-term plan in case there was a need for rescue excavation. Hence, a stratigraphic trench was dug in the higher part of the mound, and as a result, it was found that the mound contains more than three meters of archaeological deposits, including the Parthian and Chalcolithic periods. The trench revealed that Girdi Sheytan could be one of the major sites of the Dalma Culture in northwestern Iran. Although the site was originally excavated as a rescue project, the main questions of the present study included: what cultural periods does the site represent? What is the importance of the identified periods, including the Dalma Culture? The examination of the potsherds recovered from the Dalma strata showed that Girdi Sheytan contains most of the types associated with the Dalma Culture. Furthermore, the discovery of Pisdeli-style sherds among them makes it possible to study the transitional stage of this culture. In this article, while presenting the stratigraphy of the area, an attempt has been made to introduce and classify the obtained findings, especially pottery. The preliminary results of excavation at Girdi Sheytan implied that this area was one of the most significant settlements related to the Dalma Culture in the south of Lake Urmia.
Keywords: Piranshahr Plain, Girdi Sheytan, Dalma, Pisdeli, Parthian Period.
Introduction
The evidence from the stratigraphy of Girdi Sheytan represents two important periods, namely the Parthian and the Chalcolithic (contemporary to the Dalma and Pisdeli cultures, respectively). The first 12 contexts belong to the Parthian period and with the inclusion of the wall foundation from Context 1011, the Parthian works approximately span the superficial 1.5 meters. Chalcolithic (Pisdeli) pottery items begin to appear from Context 1013. While Parthian and Chalcolithic potsherds were discovered together in one section of this context due to activities around the Parthian wall foundation, contexts 1013–1024 generally contain evidence from the Chalcolithic Period (Pisdeli). The Dalma-style pottery appears from Context 1025, which extends to the deepest level of the excavation and holds a diverse set of Dalma pottery.
Girdi Sheytan I
Overall, the evidence from Girdi Sheytan I belongs to the Parthian Period, with architectural evidence appearing from the very first stratum. Although the test pit was stratigraphic and the limited space of the excavation prohibits so much evidence to be discovered, the presence of about 1.5 meters of deposits points to the significance of Girdi Sheytan and to the long life of the Parthian-era settlement here. The Parthian evidence included cairns found in different levels, from the surface strata down to those about 1.5 meters deep. Some of the cairns consisted of one row of stones, while others comprised of two rows. The function of the cairns remains undetermined.
Better-preserved wall remains were discovered at a depth of 80 cm. The extension of the stratigraphic test pit revealed the structure to be about 70cm wide and 80cm high. The remains appeared to be part of the foundation of a well-organized wall, whose function could not be determined with certainty since only two meters of its length were excavated. However, the careful placement of the wall stones and of the mortar between them, as well as the extension of the wall along the test pit, point to a large architectural space. The discovered Parthian artifacts consisted of stone objects such as mortars and pestles, as well as potsherds. Mostly coming in the form of jars, bowls, and cooking pots, the earthenware was decorated with striped patterns in low relief and engraved parallel, wavy lines. There was also one clay artifact with painted geometric designs.
Girdi Sheytan II
Appearing beneath the Parthian wall foundation, the evidence from Girdi Sheytan II belongs to the Pisdeli Culture. In total, 1.80 cm of the site’s lower strata represents the Chalcolithic Period (Pisdeli and Dalma). The considerable finds from the Pisdeli Culture consisted of an infant jar burial and the remains of several heating structures. Also found within the Dalma strata, the heating structures point to the practice of cooking in that part of the mound. In other words, the evidence shows that the eastern part of the mound was reserved for daily tasks related to food preparation. Given the absence of any significant architectural evidence, it seems that such activities were done outdoors.
Another important find from the excavation was the infant jar burial, which was discovered at a depth of 158 cm after the pit was extended into a trench westward and the wall foundation was removed. The jar was located inside one of the heating structures, and following documentation, it was found to have scraped off the floor of the structure, suggesting that it is more recent than the structure. As a possible indication of another settlement phase, the burial may have been done inside the heating structure when it had already gone out of use.
Girdi Sheytan III
The findings from this level match the characteristics of the Dalma Culture. As with those from the Pisdeli Culture, a great portion of the important Dalma finds were heating structures. As the excavation continued, a part of a round heating structure appeared at a depth of 240 cm on the southeastern side of the site and was registered as Context 1035. Sherds broken off of the structure, a large fired cylindrical clay object (17 × 30 cm), and a small, fired clay object (10 × 12 cm) were discovered around the structure—the two clay objects may be related to the heating structure. Although the structure was incomplete, the existing remains suggest it to be 25 cm in diameter, 4 cm in opening thickness, and 14 cm high (from the base to the opening). The more interesting discovery was a layer of sherds beneath the structure, serving as its foundation.
While the main goal of the stratigraphic excavation of Girdi Sheytan was simply to acquire general information about the underlying strata, the small test pit revealed valuable evidence. The existence of multiple Parthian architectural phases on top of each other attests to the considerable importance of Girdi Sheytan during the Parthian Period. The discovered architectural structures, such as walls and wall foundations, point to large Parthian spaces, which could be uncovered further through extensive excavation.
The Pisdeli Culture (Late Chalcolithic Period) appears immediately after the Parthian deposit in the stratigraphic test pit. The important finds from Pisdeli culture include heating structures and jar burials. Pisdeli pottery items do not differ much from those belonging to the lower strata (Dalma), with the bowls looking exactly like Dalma bowls in terms of form. Outward-turned vessel lips were more common during Pisdeli Culture. However, there are evident differences between Pisdeli and Dalma decorated pottery artifacts.
Conclusion
Belonging to the Dalma Culture, the lower strata in Girdi Sheytan revealed more evidence than the higher strata. In general, the considerable discoveries from that period were heating structures, whose presence also in the higher strata (Pisdeli period) implies that cooking was done in that part of the site. The Dalma heating structures were smaller and more delicate than their Pisdeli counterparts. The presence of cairns in that stratum suggests the use of stone architecture at the site, and further excavation will certainly reveal more Dalma architectural evidence and spaces. Not much varied in form, the major Dalma finds from Girdi Sheytan were potsherds and pottery vessels, with bowls and jars being the majority, which were used as everyday objects for storage purposes. An inter-site comparison showed general similarities between Girdi Sheytan and the excavated Dalma sites in north-western Iran and the central Zagros Mountains. The artifacts discovered at the site displayed every form of Dalma decorations, including reliefs, engravings, and geometric motifs.
کلیدواژهها [English]
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