Publications

@article{nokey,

title = {Chalcolithic Painted Pottery of the Sialk III Period: Quantifying Stylistic Continuities and Changes on the Northern Central Plateau},

author = {Nolwen Rol and Reinhard Bernbeck and Lisa Wolff-Heger and Hassan Akbari and Morteza Hessari and Susan Pollock and Daniel Schäfer},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.1080/05786967.2022.2101937},

year  = {2022},

date = {2022-00-00},

urldate = {2022-00-00},

journal = {Iran. Journal of the British Institute of Persian Studies},

abstract = {In the last two decades, the Varamin Plain to the southeast of Tehran has been the focus of intensified archaeological work, with surveys and excavations yielding new insights into the region’s settlement history. New material from the dynamic network of Chalcolithic sites on the Jajrud alluvial fan now offers a more solid basis to assess the links between the Varamin Plain and the site of Tappeh Sialk in the Kashan Plain, which still remains a reference point for this period. In this paper, we use painted pottery to examine the dating and relationships of the settlements of Ahmadabad-e Kuzehgaran and Chaltasian on the Varamin Plain to Tappeh Sialk. Based on an in-depth quantitative analysis of motif assemblages at the three sites, we evaluate contemporaneities as well as stylistic similarities and differences. We highlight both shared temporal trends and regional specificities.},

keywords = {Chalcolithic, Pottery, Varamin Plain},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{nokey,

title = {Squinches and Semi-domes Between the Late Sasanian and Early Islamic Periods},

author = {Guiseppe Labisi},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.1080/05786967.2019.1633241},

year  = {2022},

date = {2022-00-00},

urldate = {2022-00-00},

journal = {Iran: Journal of the British Institute of Persian Studies},

number = {2},

issue = {28},

pages = {236-49},

abstract = {The aim of this paper is to present a first attempt at a comprehensive classification of squinches related to semi-domes, in Persian kāna pūsh, in Greater Syria, Mesopotamia and Iran between the late Sasanian and early Islamic periods. This feature is a characteristic of the Persian architectural tradition: all the preserved examples are in buildings of considerable importance (most are related to the architecture of the élites) and demonstrate a typological evolution. Furthermore, their origin can also be backdated to between the late Sasanian and early Islamic periods.},

keywords = {Architecture, Islamic era, Sasanian, Social, social relations, Syria},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{nokey,

title = {The discovery of an in situ Neanderthal remain in the Bawa Yawan Rockshelter, West-Central Zagros Mountains, Kermanshah},

author = {Saman Heydari-Guran and Stefano Benazzi and Sahra Talamo and Elham Ghasidian and Nemat Hariri and Gregorio Oxilia and Samran Asiabani and Faramarz Azizi and Rahmat Naderi and Reza Safaierad and Jean-Jacques Hublin and Robert A. Foley and Marta M. Lahr},

editor = { David Caramelli},

url = {https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0253708},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0253708},

year  = {2021},

date = {2021-08-26},

urldate = {2021-08-26},

journal = {PLoS ONE},

volume = {16},

number = {8},

abstract = {Neanderthal extinction has been a matter of debate for many years. New discoveries, better chronologies and genomic evidence have done much to clarify some of the issues. This evidence suggests that Neanderthals became extinct around 40,000–37,000 years before present (BP), after a period of coexistence with Homo sapiens of several millennia, involving biological and cultural interactions between the two groups. However, the bulk of this evidence relates to Western Eurasia, and recent work in Central Asia and Siberia has shown that there is considerable local variation. Southwestern Asia, despite having a number of significant Neanderthal remains, has not played a major part in the debate over extinction. Here we report a Neanderthal deciduous canine from the site of Bawa Yawan in the West-Central Zagros Mountains of Iran. The tooth is associated with Zagros Mousterian lithics, and its context is preliminary dated to between ~43,600 and ~41,500 years ago.},

keywords = {Mousterian, Neanderthal, Zagros},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{nokey,

title = {The Fruits of Pārsa},

author = {Wouter F.M. Henkelman},

url = {https://www.academia.edu/67513894/The_fruits_of_P%C4%81rsa},

year  = {2021},

date = {2021-00-00},

urldate = {2021-00-00},

journal = {Paleopersepolis: Environment, landscape and society in ancient Fars (Oriens et Occidens)},

volume = {33},

pages = {133-67},

keywords = {Environmental conditions, Landscape, Social, social relations},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{nokey,

title = {Early Sasanian Landscape Modification: New Geoarchaeological Evidence From the Ardashir Pond in Southwest Iran (Palace of Ardashir, Third Century CE)},

author = {Morteza Djamali and Elnaz Rashidian and Alireza Askari-Chaverdi and Cyril Aubert and Elodie Brisset and François Demory and Nicolas Faucherre and Emmanuel Gandouin and Hamid Lahijani and Nick Marriner and Abdolmajid Naderi-Beni and Andrew Parnell},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.1002/gea.21880},

year  = {2021},

date = {2021-00-00},

urldate = {2021-00-00},

journal = {Geoarchaeology},

issue = {36},

pages = {925–42},

abstract = {The Sasanian period (224–651 CE) marked an era of large-scale urban projects in southwest Asia, including Iran's semi-arid highlands, with particular efforts to manipulate water bodies. This study presents a recent interdisciplinary investigation of a spring-fed pond at the entrance of the Palace of Ardashir (Firuzabad plain, southwest Iran), part of a recently registered World Heritage site. Historical accounts suggest that the entire water system of the plain, including the pond, underwent a hydraulic re-organization at the beginning of the Sasanian period, a fact that has never been investigated geoarchaeologically. A series of sediment cores were retrieved from the pond to probe its evolution and examine the extent of its landscape modification. The cores were sedimentologically described and radiocarbon-dated with age–depth models established based on 57 AMS (accelerator mass spectrometry) 14C dates to understand the basin's depositional history. The results indicate that (i) Ardashir Pond has existed as part of a larger wetland complex since at least 4500 years ago, (ii) it was substantially enlarged at the beginning of the Sasanian era, and (iii) it was abandoned at the end of the Sasanian period. The Ardashir Pond is one of the first geoarchaeologically investigated case studies to demonstrate the Sasanian landscape in the framework of the “Iranshahr” sociopolitical concept.},

keywords = {Fars, Landscape, Sasanian},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{nokey,

title = {An Absolute Radiocarbon Chronology for the World Heritage Site of Sarvestan (SW Iran): A Late Sasanian Heritage in Early Islamic Era},

author = {Morteza Djamali and Elnaz Rashidian and Manuela Capano and Alireza Askari-Chaverdi and Nicolas Faucherre and Frédéric Guibal and Alastair Northedge and Thibaut Tuna and Edouard Bard},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.1111/arcm.12716},

year  = {2021},

date = {2021-00-00},

urldate = {2021-00-00},

journal = {Archaeometry},

number = {2},

issue = {64},

pages = {545–59},

abstract = {This study presents a new precise radiocarbon chronology for the World Heritage site of Sarvestan (SW Iran). The monument is a key construction in the history of architecture because it is a typical Sasanian construction built during the late Sasanian or early Islamic period. Previous attempts to date the monument have suggested the ages ranging from the middle Sasanian (fifth century CE) to early Abbasid (ninth century CE) era. These age estimations are based on the analysis of architectural plans and techniques, and a few radiocarbon dates with very large age uncertainties. This paper presents the results of a systematic radiocarbon dating of timbers in the walls and charcoals in plaster mortars used in the main dome of the monument. It further applies wiggle matching technique and R_Combine function to substantially reduce the age uncertainties in wood sections. The results indicate that a major construction work was undertaken sometime between 658 and 683 CE, the century of the invasion of Fars by Muslim Arabs. This finding pushes back the age of Sarvestan for two centuries and suggests that the monument was built at the transitional period between Sasanian to Islamic era. Sarvestan would have been an architectural project designed and possibly initiated during the late Sasanian period but mainly accomplished during the second half of the seventh century CE. It can thus be considered a late Sasanian heritage in early Islamic period. Its construction at a time of political unrest further suggests that some areas of Fars may have benefited from certain socio-political stabilities during the expansion of Islam into the east at mid- to late seventh century CE.},

keywords = {Dating, Islamic era, Sasanian},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{nokey,

title = {Correlation of the Epipaleolithic Period in the West-Central Zagros and North Zagros with Climatic Events after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM)},

author = {Nemat Hariri and Reza Rezalo and Ardeshir Javanmard Zadeh and Saman Heydari-Guran},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.52547/jra.7.1.205},

year  = {2021},

date = {2021-00-00},

urldate = {2021-00-00},

journal = {Journal of Research on Archaeometry},

number = {1},

issue = {7},

pages = {205-29},

abstract = {Up to now, two areas of northern and west-central Zagros Mountains (ZM) have produced better information concerning the development of techno-typology of lithic artefacts during the Epipaleolithic period (EP) compare to the other part of this region. Although several caves and rockshelters associated with EP deposits are found in this region (Map 1), but they were not subject to study for the relationship between climate effect on cultural developments like the neighbored area of Levant. this deficiency can be attributed to a) the low number of excavated sites, b) poor stratigraphic control, and c) the lack of a sufficient number of absolute dates. Recent absolute date achievements from the EP site of Palegawra cave [17]. locates on the northern ZM alongside Paleoclimatic reconstruction in Hashilan wetland [8] based on the palynological studies have improved our understanding from Epipaleolthic cultural and environmental events for the region.},

keywords = {Palaeolithic, Zagros},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{nokey,

title = {A Brief Report on New Radiocarbon Dates from Tappeh Sofalin, Pishva, Iran},

author = {Morteza Hessari and Reinhard Bernbeck and Susan Pollock},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.22059/jarcs.2021.306385.142902},

year  = {2021},

date = {2021-00-00},

urldate = {2021-00-00},

journal = {Iranian Journal of Archaeological Studies},

number = {4},

issue = {12},

pages = {49-61},

abstract = {In the summer of 2017, renewed fieldwork was undertaken at Tappeh Sofalin in the Varamin Plain. A total of 20 samples for absolute dating were collected during this season, several of which have been analyzed. We present this new evidence for the dating of the site and compare it briefly with published dates and analyses from other sites. Finally, we discuss implications for the chronology of the Proto-Elamite spread to the Central Plateau and other areas of Iran.},

keywords = {Chronology, Dating, Elam, Tehran},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{nokey,

title = {Early Upper Palaeolithic Occupation at Gelimgoush Cave, Kermanshah; West-Central Zagros Mountains of Iran},

author = {Saman Heydari-Guran and Katerina Douka and Thomas Higham and Susanne C. Münzel and Katleen Deckers and Shaghayegh Hourshid and Rahmat Naderi and Samran Asiabani and Elham Ghasidian},

doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2021.103050},

year  = {2021},

date = {2021-00-00},

urldate = {2021-00-00},

journal = {Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports},

issue = {38},

abstract = {The timing and dispersal routes of Homo sapiens (H. sapiens) into the Iranian Plateau have always been a matter of debate in the recent years. Current studies on the Upper Palaeolithic period of the Zagros mountains demonstrated the later colonisation of West-Central Zagros by H. sapiens based on techno-typological and radiocarbon dating. The Kermanshah region is one of the main concentrations of Palaeolithic sites in the West-Central Zagros mountains. Despite presenting rich Palaeolithic sequence records, it suffers from the lack of stratified data associated with chronological control. This issue, until now, has prevented us from evaluating and knowing how these archaeological records relate to the patterns of H. sapiens dispersal and colonisation into the West-Central Zagros mountains. Here, we present the first excavated and dated Palaeolithic site in Kermanshah. Eshkaft-e Gelimgoush Cave yielded a classic Upper Palaeolithic assemblage, representing the Lorestan and Kermanshah (LaK) cultural group documented in the West-Central Zagros. Radiocarbon dates, associated with the material culture from this cave, provide the first dated stratified Upper Palaeolithic evidence in Kermanshah. The data from Eshkaft-e Gelimgoush are consistent with the cultural diversity model among the Upper Palaeolithic populations in the Zagros and confirm later colonisation of the West-Central than northern and southern Zagros mountains.},

keywords = {Kermanshah, Palaeolithic, Zagros},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{nokey,

title = {Geographical Proximity and Material Culture; The Interplay Between Syunik and the Southern Part of the Araxes River Basin in the 6th to the 3rd Millennium BC},

author = {Sepideh Maziar},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2020.03.055},

year  = {2021},

date = {2021-00-00},

urldate = {2021-00-00},

journal = {Quaternary International},

issue = {579},

pages = {42-58},

abstract = {The region that is known today as Syunik in the south/southeastern part of Armenia is geographically a close neighbour of the southern part of the Araxes river basin in today Iran. Political upheavals and boundaries hindered fieldwork in these areas for many years. The archaeological project of the Araxes valley (APAV) is one of many other projects that launched in 2013 in this region and focused on the southern basin of the Araxes River. The results of the excavations of two sites, Kohne Pasgah Tepesi and Kohne Tepesi, and the intensive survey carried out in this area, enable us to shed more light on the settlement dynamics, material culture and economic/social networks of this area and its neighbours.



The period from the 6th up to the middle part of the 4th millennium BC represents the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods in this region. The material culture of both periods shares many common characteristics with contemporary traditions at sites of the southern Caucasus. Later, in the last part of the 4th millennium BC, a cultural tradition that originated in the southern Caucasus, known as the Kura-Araxes cultural tradition, expanded over a vast area, including the southern part of the Araxes river basin. Based on the study of the pottery styles and obsidian flow, the patterns of interconnection between regions, communities, and sources, and commodity flows are examined. The role of the Araxes River and its tributaries in this interplay over the stated time span is the other inquiry of this article. Furthermore, I will investigate whether spatial propinquity had any impact on commodity flows and exchange, and if so, did this impact affected the material culture and technological practices or not.},

keywords = {Bronze Age, Chalcolithic, Economy, Kura-Araxes, Neolithic, Settlement mobility, Social, social relations, Survey},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{nokey,

title = {Radiological and Histological Findings in Ancient Salt Mummies From the Salt Mine of DouzlāKh, Iran},

author = {Lena Maria Öhrström and Herman Marquez and Roger Seiler and Beata Bode and Abolfazl Aali and Thomas Stöllner and Frank Jakobus Rühli},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0250745},

year  = {2021},

date = {2021-00-00},

urldate = {2021-00-00},

journal = {PLoS ONE},

number = {4},

issue = {16},

abstract = {Computed tomography studies and histological analyses were performed on the mummified remains found in the Chehrābād salt mine in northwestern Iran. The ancient salt mummies are dated to the Achaemenid (550–330 BC) and Sassanid (3rd–7th century AD) time period and died in mining incidents. The aim of the study was to describe the radiological and histological findings of several ancient Iranian salt mummies with special interest in pathological and postmortem changes. The mummified remains show multiple traumatic alterations, such as fractures and signs of massive compression. Histological analyses can clearly differentiate soft tissue, however the preservation status is variable. These Iranian salt mummies are a rare example of the ancient Iranian population. The soft tissue and organs are well preserved, however in different degrees due to the varying conditions.},

keywords = {Archaeobotany, Mining, Zanjan},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{nokey,

title = {Exceptional Ancient DNA Preservation and Fibre Remains of a Sasanian Saltmine Sheep Mummy in ChehrāBāD, Iran},

author = {Conor Rossi and Gabriela Ruß-Popa and Valeria Mattiangeli and Fionnuala McDaid and Andrew J. Hare and Hossein Davoudi and Haeedeh Laleh and Zahra Lorzadeh and Roya Khazaeli and Homa Fathi and Matthew D. Teasdale and Abolfazl Aali and Thomas Stöllner and Marjan Mashkour and Kevin G. Daly},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2021.0222},

year  = {2021},

date = {2021-00-00},

urldate = {2021-00-00},

journal = {Biological letters},

issue = {17},

abstract = {Mummified remains have long attracted interest as a potential source of ancient DNA. However, mummification is a rare process that requires an anhydrous environment to rapidly dehydrate and preserve tissue before complete decomposition occurs. We present the whole-genome sequences (3.94 X) of an approximately 1600-year-old naturally mummified sheep recovered from Chehrābād, a salt mine in northwestern Iran. Comparative analyses of published ancient sequences revealed the remarkable DNA integrity of this mummy. Hallmarks of postmortem damage, fragmentation and hydrolytic deamination are substantially reduced, likely owing to the high salinity of this taphonomic environment. Metagenomic analyses reflect the profound influence of high-salt content on decomposition; its microbial profile is predominated by halophilic archaea and bacteria, possibly contributing to the remarkable preservation of the sample. Applying population genomic analyses, we find clustering of this sheep with Southwest Asian modern breeds, suggesting ancestry continuity. Genotyping of a locus influencing the woolly phenotype showed the presence of an ancestral ‘hairy’ allele, consistent with hair fibre imaging. This, along with derived alleles associated with the fat-tail phenotype, provides genetic evidence that Sasanian-period Iranians maintained specialized sheep flocks for different uses, with the ‘hairy’, ‘fat-tailed’-genotyped sheep likely kept by the rural community of Chehrābād's miners.},

keywords = {Archaeozoology, Salt, Zanjan},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{nokey,

title = {Special Issue: Paleolithic of Iran 1},

author = {Saman Heydari-Guran and Elham Ghasidian},

editor = {Saman Heydari-Guran and Elham Ghasidian},

year  = {2021},

date = {2021-00-00},

urldate = {2021-00-00},

journal = {Archaeological Report Monographs Series},

number = {7},

issue = {2},

keywords = {Palaeolithic},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{nokey,

title = {Resilienz bei Pandemie; Kurzbericht zum Projekt ‘Resilience in the Diaspora‘},

author = {Sepideh Maziar},

year  = {2021},

date = {2021-00-00},

urldate = {2021-00-00},

journal = {ENKI; Archäologie und Kunstgeschichte des Vorderen Orients},

issue = {22},

pages = {26-28},

keywords = {Resilience},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{nokey,

title = {The Mountain Fortresses of Rabana-Merquly in Iraqi-Kurdistan},

author = {Michael Brown},

url = {https://bop.unibe.ch/baf/article/view/7202},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.22012/baf.2019.19},

year  = {2020},

date = {2020-11-27},

urldate = {2020-11-27},

journal = {BAF-Online: Proceedings of the Berner Altorientalisches Forum},

volume = {4},

number = {1},

abstract = {The twin fortresses of Rabana-Merquly are situated on the western side of Mt. Piramagrun, one of the most prominent massifs in the Zagros Mountains. A defining feature of these adjoining settlements are their matching, approximately life-size rock-reliefs depicting a ruler in Parthian dress, which flank the entrance to both sites. Behind the perimeter walls several structures have been recorded including a citadel and a sanctuary complex. The combined intramural area is in excess of 40 hectares. Based on the style of relief sculptures, and the material culture of their associated intramural settlements, occupation is dated to the early first millennium A.D. Investigations at Rabana-Merquly are a collaboration between Heidelberg University and the Sulaymaniyah Directorate of Antiquities. This talk gives an overview of the main fieldwork results to date, emphasizing the relationship between the fortified settlements and the wider landscape of the central Zagros highlands.},

keywords = {Fortification, Kurdistan, Landscape, Parthian, Persian empire, Resilience},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{nokey,

title = {Salzmumien im Iran},

author = {Thomas Stöllner},

url = {https://wbg-zeitschriften.de/produkt/archaeologie-in-deutschland-520-germanen/},

year  = {2020},

date = {2020-09-11},

urldate = {2020-09-11},

journal = {Archäologie in Deutschland},

volume = {5/2020},

pages = {14-19},

abstract = {Salz ist unverzichtbar: als Mittel zur  Konservierung in der Vergangenheit in noch weit höherem Maße als heute. Von der Bedeutung des weißen Goldes zeugen in unseren Breiten berühmte Fundorte wie Hallstatt und Hallein. Im Nordwesten Persiens liegen die Bergwerke von Douzlākh. Dort hat das Salz verunglückte Bergmänner konserviert: eine Momentaufnahme vom Todeskampf untertage.},

keywords = {Mining, Salt},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{nokey,

title = {Tracking the Near Eastern Origins and European Dispersal of the Western House Mouse},

author = {Thomas Cucchi and Katerina Papayianni and Sophie Cersoy and Laetitia Aznar-Cormano and Antoine Zazzo and Régis Debruyne and Rémi Berthon and Adrian Bălășescu and Alan Simmons and François Valla and Yannis Hamilakis and Fanis Mavridis and Marjan Mashkour and Jamshid Darvish and D Roohollah Siahsarvi and Fereidoun Biglari and Cameron A. Petrie and Lloyd Weeks and Alireza Sardari and Sepideh Maziar and Christiane Denys and David Orton and Emma Jenkins and Melinda Zeder and Jeremy B. Searle and Greger Larson and François Bonhomme and Jean-Christophe Auffray and Jean-Denis Vigne},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-64939-9},

year  = {2020},

date = {2020-05-19},

urldate = {2020-05-19},

journal = {Scientific Reports},

number = {1},

issue = {10},

pages = {1—12},

abstract = {The house mouse (Mus musculus) represents the extreme of globalization of invasive mammals. However, the timing and basis of its origin and early phases of dispersal remain poorly documented. To track its synanthropisation and subsequent invasive spread during the develoment of complex human societies, we analyzed 829 Mus specimens from 43 archaeological contexts in Southwestern Asia and Southeastern Europe, between 40,000 and 3,000 cal. BP, combining geometric morphometrics numerical taxonomy, ancient mitochondrial DNA and direct radiocarbon dating. We found that large late hunter-gatherer sedentary settlements in the Levant, c. 14,500 cal. BP, promoted the commensal behaviour of the house mouse, which probably led the commensal pathway to cat domestication. House mouse invasive spread was then fostered through the emergence of agriculture throughout the Near East 12,000 years ago. Stowaway transport of house mice to Cyprus can be inferred as early as 10,800 years ago. However, the house mouse invasion of Europe did not happen until the development of proto urbanism and exchange networks — 6,500 years ago in Eastern Europe and 4000 years ago in Southern Europe — which in turn may have driven the first human mediated dispersal of cats in Europe.},

keywords = {Archaeozoology},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{nokey,

title = {Soundings at Three Chalcolithic Sites in the Varamin Plain, 2018},

author = {Reinhard Bernbeck and Morteza Hessari and Susan Pollock and Nolwen Rol and Hassan Akbari and Jana Eger and Sepideh Saeedi},

url = {https://www.academia.edu/44150885/Soundings_at_Three_Chalcolithic_Sites_in_the_Varamin_Plain_2018},

issn = {1434-2758},

year  = {2020},

date = {2020-00-00},

urldate = {2020-00-00},

journal = {Archäologische Mitteilungen aus Iran und Turan},

volume = {49},

pages = {49-75},

abstract = {The Chalcolithic period (late 5th and 4th mill. BCE) is central to an understanding of the social, economic, and political changes that led to the first states in western Asia as well as the early uses of writing and complex administrative systems in Iran and Mesopotamia at the end of that millennium. In Iran, the late 5th through the first half of the 4th mill. BCE is characterized by several broad, regionally distinct material culture patterns. They range from complex societies of the late Susiana and Uruk traditions in lowland Khuzestan to Lapui and Banesh in the Kur River Basin and surroundings and the Sialk III tradition on the central plateau. These traditions have ofen been treated as monolithic entities, with research geared towards the identification of broad similarities over large geographic areas. This has been done to the detriment of investigations of local specificities. We have no understanding yet as to how Sialk III or Banesh traditions might have found local expressions nor to what extent there existed economic, political, or cultural variability within such traditions.This pattern of regionalization gives way in the latter part of the 4th mill. to the Proto-Elamite phenomenon with its striking similarities in administrative artifacts and to some extent in mundane artifacts such as pottery. Proto-Elamite material culture, usually attributed to the Early Bronze Age, can be found across the central plateau and into the highland valleys of the Zagros as well as in the lowlands of southwestern Iran. Here, too, the pre-dominant research emphasis has rested on the ex-amination of similarities, with studies of regional differences taking the back seat until quite recently. The processes that led to the emergence of this macro-phenomenon are not well understood; further understandings of them will require investigations at both large and small scales. The project we present here aims to examine those long-term developments in the Varamin Plain, with a focus on the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age periods. We argue for the need for locally and regionally based understandings of these long-term trajectories. In this first phase of the project, we have placed our emphasis on the Sialk III period. In this paper we report on a series of brief soundings excavated in the summer of 2018 at the three Sialk III sites of Ahmadabad-e Kuzehgaran, Chaltasian South, and Ajor Pazi. Our goals for this initial work were the following: 

–to investigate the depth of cultural deposits at each site as well as the preservation of architecture and other remains; 

–to acquire organic samples with which to build a robust radiocarbon-based chronology for the Varamin Plain; 

–to systematically recover and document pottery in order to construct a locally based ceramic chronology that can be connected to but does not directly depend on that used for other regions (e.g., the Sialk sequence); 

–to systematically collect artifacts as a window into understanding economic practices; 

–to collect animal bones, plant remains, and soil samples as a basis for investigating subsistence practices and local environmental conditions. The study of the finds and samples is underway. Here we present summaries of the fieldwork con-ducted and the first preliminary results of our analyses. 

},

keywords = {Archaeobotany, Archaeozoology, Chalcolithic, Dating, Economy, Sounding, Tehran},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{nokey,

title = {Die Bergbefestigung von Rabana-Merquly in Irakisch-Kurdistan: Ein Vorbericht der Grabungskampagne 2019},

author = {Michael Brown and Kamal Rasheed and Roxana Dörr and Jan Heiler},

url = {https://www.orient-gesellschaft.de/repositorium/MDOG/MDOG_152_Brown_et_al.pdf},

year  = {2020},

date = {2020-00-00},

urldate = {2020-00-00},

journal = {Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft},

issue = {152},

pages = {91-110},

abstract = {On the slopes of Mt. Piramagrun in the Zagros Mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan lies the fortified site of Rabana-Merquly. Ruins spread across c. 100 ha represent a major occupation during the Parthian period. Matching rock-reliefs that depict an anonymous ruler flank the two main entrances to the settlements. Pronounced similarities in attire between these sculptures and the statue of a king of Adiabene found at Hatra suggest a possible identification for both the individual depicted in relief (Natounissar) and the ancient city (Natounia-on-the-Kapros). Fieldwork in 2019 continued our ongoing programme of survey and excavation, with more detailed investigation of the complex at the entrance to Rabana valley.},

keywords = {Fortification, Kurdistan, Landscape, Parthian, Resilience},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{nokey,

title = {Exploring Beyond the River and Inside the Valleys: Settlement Development and Cultural Landscape of the Araxes River Basin Through Time},

author = {Sepideh Maziar and Ali Zalaghi},

url = {https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/05786967.2019.1708207},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.1080/05786967.2019.1708207},

year  = {2020},

date = {2020-00-00},

urldate = {2020-00-00},

journal = {Iran},

issue = {59},

pages = {36–56},

abstract = {Geographical landmarks, especially rivers, have always played an important role in forming or hampering interplay between societies. In some cases, they act as a “communication route” and in some others as “obstacles”. In north-western Iran, it is possible that the Araxes River played such a decisive role by sculpting its surroundings. While our studies are not yet sufficiently adequate to understand the exact role of this river in different time spans, we can begin in some way to conceptualise its role in different periods. The Araxes Valley Archaeological Project (AVAP) was developed with the general aim of investigating settlement development from the fifth to the third millennium BC. Furthermore, studying the possible and probable routes of interaction, both inter- and intra-regional, between the Jolfa and Khoda Afarin plains and the southern Caucasus and north-western Iran, networks of contacts and exchange, and gaining a better understanding of the geographical characteristics of this area and its landscape were among our aims. In this article, the general history of occupation along this river is given to provide a preliminary database to understand the geographical and socio-political potential of this part in order to pursue more comprehensive studies in the future.},

keywords = {Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bronze Age, Caucasus, Chalcolithic, Georgia, Iron Age, Kura-Araxes, Landscape, Mobility, Neolithic, Settlement and subsistance systems, Settlement mobility, Settlement structure, Structure development},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{nokey,

title = {Analyzing Archaeological Finds from the Chehrabad Salt Mine},

author = {Abolfazl Aali and Thomas Stöllner and Bahman Firuzmandi},

url = {https://jarcs.ut.ac.ir/article_73118.html?lang=en},

doi = {10.22059/JARCS.2019.73118},

year  = {2019},

date = {2019-00-00},

urldate = {2019-00-00},

journal = {Journal of Archaeological Studies},

volume = {11},

number = {2},

pages = {191-210},

abstract = {The Chehrabad salt mine is one of the rare ancient salt mine in the world and the only identified salt mine in Iran which has evidences of salt extracting over a long time span from 500 BC to modern times. According to the field researches conducted so far, in the excavated area, mining activities are proven to be in use in the Achaemenid, Sasanian, Middle and Late Islamic periods. After the accidental discoveries in 1993 and 2004, several season of excavation and archaeological surveys, have been carried out in the mine and around it. Archaeological researches brought to light interesting results concerning the techniques, periods and extracting tools, also relation between salt mine and the archaeological sites around it. Digging deep tunnels inside the salt rock deposits in different dimensions and sizes and using the various extraction tools can be seen in the excavated area with the difference in details in all the aforementioned periods. The long- term salt extraction activities and multi- periodic collapse of the tunnels, have resulted the formation of various layers such as fall, occupation, mining and erosion layers in different parts of the mine and the filling many of its old tunnels. According to documents, Most of the discovered human remains were probably non- native miners who died during catastrophic mining accidents and mummified naturally.},

keywords = {Achaemenid, Mining, Resilience, Resources, Sasanian, Zanjan},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{nokey,

title = {Reappraisal of the number of salt mummies identified in Chehrābād Salt Mine, Zanjan, Iran},

author = {Hamed Vahdati Nasab and Abolfazl Aali and Mandan Kazzazi and Mark Pollard and Thomas Stöllner

},

url = {http://www.anthropology.uw.edu.pl/13/bne-13-03.pdf},

year  = {2019},

date = {2019-00-00},

urldate = {2019-00-00},

journal = {Bioarchaeology of the Near East},

volume = {13},

pages = {23-47},

abstract = {The Chehrābād Salt Mine mummies were first discovered in 1993. So far, six individuals have been identified in the mine. Three (1, 2, and 3) were found accidentally by miners, while another three (4, 5, and 6) were discovered through systematic archaeological excavations. This article shows that there are two more individuals represented in the collection, bringing the total number of mummies to eight. Osteological examination confirms that the extra bones initially placed with Salt Man 1 belong to another individual, possibly a young adult male, of unknown date, called Salt Man 7. In addition, results

from AMS dating of an extra piece of mandible, which was originally placed with the skeletal remains of Salt Man 3, indicates that this specimen does not belong to this individual; it was removed from the collection and renamed as Salt Man 8. The osteological analysis of the bone remains of Salt Man 8 suggests that this individual might also be a young male.},

keywords = {Achaemenid, Mining, Resilience, Resources, Sasanian, Zanjan},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{nokey,

title = {Mesozoic-Cenozoic metallogenesis in Iran},

author = {H. Förster},

doi = {https://doi.org/10.1144/gsjgs.135.4.0443},

year  = {1978},

date = {1978-00-00},

urldate = {1978-00-00},

journal = {Journal of the Geological Society},

volume = {135},

pages = {443-455},

address = {London},

abstract = {A short description of the regional geology of Iran is followed by new data concerning grade of metamorphism, palaeomagnetism, continental drift and radiometric age determinations.

Mineralization in Iran is considered in terms of four metallogenic epochs: Lower and mid-Cretaceous lead-zinc deposits in limestones, late Cretaceous chromium, copper and manganese associated with ophiolites, early Tertiary copper veins, skarns and porphyries and late Tertiary and Pleistocene porphyry copper deposits and lead-zinc veins.

Eight areas are examined as regional exploration targets. In the Yazd-Golpaigan area Lower and mid-Cretaceous stratabound lead-zinc ores of Mississippi Valley type are associated with magmatism related to the initial rifting of Gondwanaland. In western Azerbaijan Upper Cretaceous chromite ores in serpentinised dunite are regarded as part of a plate boundary environment. In northern Azerbaijan Oligocene granodiorite intrusions, related to porphyry copper deposits in Russia, have given rise to copper-molybdenum skarns. The Sabzevar zone is thought to be a 200 km wide area of oceanic crust. Cretaceous ophiolites with chromite deposits occur in its northern part, while the southern part contains chalcopyrite and pyrolusite ores in submarine lavas and sediments and low grade copper ores associated with Eocene island arc volcanism. Eastern Lut contains Cretaceous chromite deposits and lead-zinc-copper-gold veins possibly related to Plio-Pleistocene intrusions. The Neogene-Pleistocene portion of the central Iranian volcanic belt is a chain of large stratovolcanoes and granodiorite intrusions, apparently fault-controlled, which includes important porphyry copper deposits. The Oligocene volcanics of western Alborz contain veins with galena, sphalerite and chalcopyrite and a large hydrothermal alunite deposit. The flows and tuffs are intruded by granodiorite, granite and monzonite, with potential for porphyry-type copper ores.},

keywords = {Geology},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{nokey,

title = {Ricerche archeologiche sulla protostoria del Sistan},

author = {Maurizio Tosi},

year  = {1978},

date = {1978-00-00},

journal = {Quaderni de "La ricerca scientific"},

volume = {1},

number = {100},

pages = {3-32},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}