Study and investigation of Sasanian pottery from the Site of Kiabak, ‎Firouzkoh ‎

The central Tepe of the Kiabek Site is located on the edge of the Andor river in the city of Firouzkoh, is ‎considered one of the important Sasanian sites in the archaeological studies of the north of the Iran ‎Central Plateau, which was surveyed and studied in 2014. During a season of archaeological research ‎at this ancient site, various cultural artifacts were found, including pottery. This pottery was classified ‎and categorized based on technical specifications and shape. The research has a fundamental nature ‎with a descriptive-analytical approach, and the research methodology involves library and field studies ‎‎(pottery).‎



The main purpose of this article is the quantitative and qualitative study of Sassanid pottery at the ‎Kiabak site, including their classification, typology, and relative chronology. Questions that can be ‎addressed in this research include: What are the common types of clay in this area? Additionally, based ‎on the discovered pottery in this area, with which other cultural fields is it related?‎



The results of the research showed that among the identified shapes of pottery at the Kiabak site, in ‎order of abundance, they include jars, bowls, pots, plates, and skillets. The most common decorative ‎motifs found on the pottery are carved and combinatorial motifs. Most of the pottery is suitable for ‎firing and demonstrates the temperature control of the kiln used for firing pottery.‎



Furthermore, a comparative analysis showed that, while exhibiting some native-local characteristics, ‎the pottery of this area bears similarities to areas such as Cham Rote, Sirm Shah, Yazdgerd Qaleh, Gori ‎Qaleh, Hegmatane Tepe, Veliran, Mahor Siah, Tasmijan, Weigal and Horasgan, Berdankun, etc., as well ‎as Sassanid sites identified in Zanjan, North Khuzestan, and Shushtar Mianab surveys. The site of Abu ‎Sharifah in Iraq is also comparable, and in addition to regional characteristics, it shares the most ‎similarities with the cultural areas of the Northeast and the Iran central plateau.‎