Description the Classification and Analysis of Typology of Pottery Parthian Period of Hamedan Sang-e Shir Cemetery

Arsacid Empire is one of the least known periods in the history of Iran which, until recently, was called the “dark middle age of ancient Iran civilization”. In Iranian culture and tradition, this period is usually ignored and left unexplored. For years, identification and investigation of Arsacid culture and art were done just based on the excavations carried out in Mesopotamia and Syria, especially in Palmira and Dura Europos. In Iran, the important sites excavated only include Susa (50 km south Andimeshk  and  114 km north of Ahwaz), Khajeh Mountain (in Sistan), Khorheh (in Markazi province), Qale’ Yazdgird (in western Iran, close to Qasre Shirin),  Tepe NushiJan (60 km south Hamedan), Qale’ Zahak (16 km southeast Sareskan city), Taq-i Bustan cemetery (in Kermanshah), Parthian domain of Bisotun (in Harsin city) and Laodicea Temple (in Nahavand). One of the most valuable Arsacid cultural materials is pottery, a difficult, unknown yet important issue studying which is a must. An essential, prominent aspect of Arsacid pottery is that the works of pottery were not identical throughout Arsacid territory. In this period, in every region of Iran, there were works of pottery which were unique to that region and differed from the potteries of neighboring regions. Sang-e Shir area, now known as Sang-e Shir square, is placed at the east of Hamedan city. Today, a very small part of this site has turned into the square and the rest is buried under residential houses. To the northeast of this area, there is a vast cemetery on a natural hill; stone lion statue is located on the highest point to the southwest. This cemetery was visited by Ali Akbar Sarfaraz in 1966, and later, in 1974-75 by Masoud Azarnoush as a result of which Achaemenid, Seleucid?, Parthian and Islamic graves were excavated. As a result of the excavations, four different types of burial were identified including burial in clay coffins, burial in clay pithos, burial without coffin (corpse in a flexed position), and burial without coffin (corpse in a extended position). In his 1975 report, Azarnoush divided these burials into three categories: burials flexed is considered as belonging to 4th century BC because of a coin from Caria found; he claims that this coin can possibly be dated back to Hecatomnus, the king who was appointed by Artaxerxes II as the head of Iranian Army that were to fight Evagoras, the rebelling king of Salamis. Burials with or without coffins along northeast-southwest axis in which the head is in the southwest are considered, doubtfully, to belong to Seleucid? period based on comparative studies on excavations in Egypt and Mesopotamia. Burials with or without coffin along northeast-southwest axis in a which the head is in the northeast, are regarded as belonging to the late first half and early second half of 2td century BC based on the coins found in these burials that belong to Mithradates I, Phraates II and Gutarzes II.  In this article, the Parthian potteries found in this cemetery were the subject of study, typological analysis, comparison and contrast, which led to the identification of Common, Clinky and Glazed pottery categories. Comparative study investigation indicated that these potteries are similar to the Parthian  potteries of central Mesopotamia (Seleucia), west(Kangavar, Bisotun, Tepe Nush-IJan, Khorheh, Ti-Haleh site in Khorramabad Valley), southwest (Tepe Darougeh, level III of Chaour palace-Susa, eastern Apadana-Susa, level VI of Ville Royale in Susa, Masjid Soleiman), and northwest (the site of Germi in Moghan plain) of Iran. Based on the analysis, the pottery set found in Sang-e Shir Cemetery of Hamedan can be dated to the early and middle Parthian period.