Authors
1
Department of Archeology, Faculty of Literature and Human Sciences, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
2
II. German Archaeological Institute, Tehran Branch (DAI),, Berlin, Germany
3
Assistant professor, Department of Archeology, Faculty of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism, University of Mazandaran, Babolsar, Iran
4
Phd Student, Department of Archeology, Faculty of Literature and Human Sciences, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
10.22084/nb.2025.31637.2809
Abstract
About Iron Age and historical period of Mazandaran district, So far, has not been conducted a comprehensive research for chronology based on burial objects. Most of the studies have been on the pottery collections and through archaeological surveys and are less based on excavations and as a result, the description, classification and chronology have often been influenced by cultural history approaches. In the meantime, two seasons of archaeological excavations and surveys in the Shahneh Poshte Cemetery of Babol led to discovery of a collection of burial objects, the most prominent are pottery vessels. The burial objects contain a collection of various objects including pottery, metal objects, weapons and ornaments as well as bone and stone tools. In the Shahneh Poshte also encounter a group of vessels that have different forms and colors and are a determining factor in explaining the relative chronology and their belonging to the Iron Age I to IV (Achaemenid to early Parthian) i.e. the late second millennium to the second half of the first millennium BC. Also iron metal has rarely been found in this cemetery while bronze has been used abundantly in the form of weapons and ornaments. The present research attempts to address questions about the typology and classification of the objects, their historical and chronological connections and the stylistic and cultural interactions with sites of the same horizon within Mazandaran and outside like Gorgan Plain, Gilan, the central plateau and western Iran. It seems that this site within the framework of Mazandaran cultural sequence, has similarities with some contemporary sites such as Gohar Tepe, Tepe Parija, Hotu and Lafourak. While it has stylistic similarities with a number of prominent Iranian sites like Marlik, Ghaleh Kuti, Kaluraz, Qeytariyeh, Khurvin, MersinChal and Sialk, it also has its own cultural trends and some local pottery styles.
Keywords
Subjects