A Preliminary Report on the First Season of Excavations at Gilavan Cemetery in Northwestern Iran

Transcription

1 Vol. 2, No. 4, Summer- Autumn 2016 International Journal of the Society of Iranian Archaeologists A Preliminary Report on the First Season of Excavations at Gilavan Cemetery in Northwestern Iran Reza Rezalou University of Mohaghegh Ardabili Yahya Ayremlou University of Mohaghegh Ardabili Received: June, 18, 2016 Accepted: November, 17, 2016 Abstract: Khanghah Gilavan cemetery with an area of 300 hectares is one of the unique sites located in northwestern Iran in the Ardabil province. The first season of excavations in this site, was carried out in 2006, during which, 10 burials belonging to the Middle Bronze Age, Iron Age I and Parthian period were excavated. They were pit graves lacking any structure. In other words, these types of graves had no particular architectural features and were created by digging a hole and placing the dead people there. The burials were mostly individual, with some double burials seen as well. Funerary objects in the graves were pottery, bronze and iron objects. These burials contained gifts such as pottery, bronze weapons, metal ornaments and decorated beads of various forms. An interesting point regarding the cemetery is the existence of burials from three periods, the middle Bronze Age, Iron Age I and the Parthian Era. Based on the archaeological data obtained from the burials and compa with other graves and archaeological sites, two of the burials can be attributed to the middle bronze age, four to Iron Age I and four to the Parthian period. Keywords: Khanghah Gilavan cemetery, middle bronze age, Iron Age I, Parthian period. Introduction Ardabil province is located in North-West Iran. Archaeological research in this region has been centralized around Lake Urmia while other parts have been igno. Khanghah Gilavan cemetery in the province of Ardabil is an important site with burials from the middle bronze age to the Parthian period. Ardabil province can be divided into three main geographical zones (Fig. 1). The first one includes the plains between the mountains of Khalkhal where there are sites from the Middle Bronze and Iron Ages. This region is in the extreme southern part of the province and neighbors with the sites of northern Iran such as Marlik cemetery. Khanghah Gilavan cemetery is located in this region (Rezaloo 2011). The second zone consists of the Ardabil and Meshgin Shahr plains including a considerable number of bronze and Iron Age fortresses and cemeteries. In the Ardabil plains, Qale Khosrow is the most important fortress. The site demonstrates the socio-political complex society of the late Bronze Age, characterized by a large fortress in the center and small fortresses around it, with a large cemetery located near the central castle (Rezaloo 2007: ). In addition, Tepe Kargan is one of the most important sites in this region which, based on the author s archaeological survey, has data back to early (Kura Araxes culture), Middle and Late Bronze and Iron Ages. Charles Burney carried out an archaeological survey on the Meshgin Shahr plains in 1978 (Ingraham and Summers 1979: ). His team surveyed the area between Ahar and Ardabil cities (Meshgin shahr plain) and concluded that except two or three Chalcolithic sites, the other sites were attributed to the Iron Age and later periods. In the survey, no Bronze Age sites were seen. Megalithic graves scatte in this area were attributed to nomadic peoples (Ingraham and Summers 1979: 69). The southern part of the surveyed region was consisted of the Mount Sabalan and the northern part was restricted to the Ghara Su River. One of the most important archaeological features in the area is Reza Rezalou Department of Archaeology, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran. r_rezaloo@uma.ac.ir Yahya Ayremlou Department of Archaeology, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran. yahya-ayramloo@yahoo.com 45

2 International Journal of the Society of Iranian Archaeologists Vol. 2, No. 4, Summer- Autumn 2016 Fig. 1: The Archaeological zones in Ardabil province. the Megalithic graves in a wide range from Ghara Dag to the northern part of Iran (Ingraham and Summers 1979: ; Burney 1979: ). In Charles Burney's surveys, more than 40 sites belonging to the first millennium b.c. have been mentioned. One of the important sites in this area is Shahr Yery fortress, also refer to as Arjaq fortress. Another important site is Ghosha Tepe located between the villages of Pirazmian and Lamber. Due to its special geographical location, Ghosha Tepe was not observed by Charles Burney and was excavated by Hojabry Nobary in The oldest remains of the cultural periods in the East of North West Iran being obtained from this site have been attributed to the late Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods. In recent archaeological surveys, over 250 Megalithic graves of different shapes and sizes have been identified in this region (Ebtehaj 2001). One of the other important sites in this region is the Khoram Abad cemetery excavated by Rezaloo in In this excavation, Megalithic tombs from Iron Age I and II and Kurgans from the Scythian culture were obtained (Rezaloo 2013). The third archaeological zone of Ardabil province is the Moghan plains lying in the northern part of it, and one of the most important sites in this region is Tepe Naderi including the Kura Araxes culture. Archeological surveys conducted in the North West of Iran have provided information regarding the Middle Bronze Age which is pertained more to the settlement sites and the findings from the cemeteries are insufficient. The graves of this period were found from two sites in this region both of which were in the Lake Urmia zone. The first was obtained from Dinkha Tepe named tomb B10a B27 (Rubinson 1991) and the other one was obtained from Geoy Tepe (Burton Brown 1951: ). In this site, three stone tombs (labeled A, B & H) have been found which have middle Bronze Age potteries comparable with our materials. Iron Age materials have been found in many sites excavated in northwestern Iran such as Hasanlu Tepe (Dyson and Muscarella 1989), Haji Firuz Tepe (Voigt 1983), Dinkha Tepe (Muscarella 1968), Kordlar Tepe (Lippert 1979), Geoy Tepe (Burton Brown 1951), Haftavan Tepe (Burney 1969, 1970, 1973, 1975, 1979), Geoy Masjid cemetery (Hojabri Nobari 2004) and Qale Khosrow (Rezaloo 2007). The materials unearthed from these sites are comparable with the objects discove in the Gilavan cemetery. In the Ardebil province, samples of Parthian cemeteries have been excavated in the Germi region in the archeological sites such as Jojiran Tepe, Darageh Tepe, Ayry Tepe, Jeyran Tepe, Shiekhlar Tepe, Salaleh Tepe (Kambakhsh Fard 1998). Studies conducted by a group led by Charles Burney also reported cemeteries related to the Parthian period around Meshgin Shahr (Ingraham and Summers 1979). Similarly, from areas around Ardebil, pottery samples known as Ardabil-Style painted ware have been reported which were, unfortunately, acqui illegally from those burials and later sold in black antique market (Haerinck 1983). Kleiss excavated a few burials related to the late Parthian periods at Bastam Fort (Kroll 1979). Khanghah Gilavan Cemetery Khanghah Gilavan cemetery is located at 37 0, 17, 26 latitude and 48 0, 49, 27 longitude on the northwest of the Khanghah village. In other words, this site is located on almost 60 km south-east of Khalkhal city in the Shah Rud district about 180 km away from south of Ardabil. The site is situated within a verdurous valley in the altitudes of the Talesh Mountains. Gilavan cemetery lies on a natural high mound with an elevation about 1675 m (figs. 2-3). The North side of the mound has a smooth gradient which is conduced to Gilavan River. There is a precipice on the west side of the mound which is conduced to the valley located between this mound and the other hills. The east and south sides are conduced to Gilavan village and high hills, respectively (figs. 4, 6 & 7). 46

3 Vol. 2, No. 4, Summer- Autumn 2016 International Journal of the Society of Iranian Archaeologists Fig. 2: Location of the Gilavan cemetery in N-W Iran. Fig. 3: Location of the site in Ardabil province. 47

4 International Journal of the Society of Iranian Archaeologists Vol. 2, No. 4, Summer- Autumn 2016 Fig. 4: Topographic map of the site. Fig. 5: The trenches and location of the graves. 48

5 Vol. 2, No. 4, Summer- Autumn 2016 International Journal of the Society of Iranian Archaeologists Fig. 6: Gilavan cemetery, An overview of the north. Fig. 7: Eastern side of the cemetery. During a highway construction project at Khanghah village in April 2006, a few ancient graves were emerged (fig. 8). Consequently, the authors excavated this site and found 15 burials in two trenches named A and B (fig. 5). It should be noted that the graves were numbe from 10 to 25 and 5 graves were destroyed by the smugglers and road construction; therefore, we have not mentioned them due to lack of funerary gifts and stratigraphic context. Burials 18, 19, 20 and 22 were related to the Parthian period, burials 12, 15, 16 and 25 to Iron I and burials 14 and 24 to Middle Bronze Age. The intent of the current paper is to highlight these burials in details. Fig. 8: The highway construction project at Khanghah village and destruction of the cemetery. 49

6 International Journal of the Society of Iranian Archaeologists Vol. 2, No. 4, Summer- Autumn 2016 The Middle Bronze Age Burials Burial 14 Burial 14 is located in the northern part of Trench B. This burial is in the form of a pit grave such that the body was placed after digging a ditch. The dimension of the pit corresponded to the physique of the dead with additional space for gifts: cm. The burial is laid semiclosed in the southwestern-northeastern direction and belonged to a year-old female (the head facing northwest). The head is laid in the south western direction and the legs are in the north eastern direction. On the western side of the grave, approximately 15 cm away from the skeleton there are signs of sheep bones. The remains on the skeleton indicate that the deceased body was cove with a solution of ocher before the funeral (figs. 9 & 10). The gifts put inside the grave were potteries, metal objects, agate and frit beads. The pottery assemblage found in this grave was consisted of 21 vessels that can be classified into three groups based on their surface color, 67% of the pottery is, 25% and 8%. The fabric color is the same on the surface of each pottery, except for two cases i.e. numbers 2 & 9, with surface and black fabric in the first one, and in the second one, the surface is dark and the fabric has a color. Only one item of pottery was decorated with black-colo geometric designs on. The metal objects consisted of two pendants, one dagger, one head pin and three bronze earrings. One of the pendants was found near the skull and the other near the right shoulder of the body. These bronze pendants are in the form of spear head with heads bowed to up and shaping a circular. The bronze dagger and head pin were found in the southern part of the grave and above the sheep skeleton. Three bronze crescent-shaped earrings were found on the left of the skull. Two dark agate beads, cylindrical in shape, and two white frit beads spherical and disc-like in shape were found around the neck (figs ). Fig. 9: Burial 14, Dated in the middle bronze age. Fig. 10: Burial 14 and location of the gifts. 50

7 Vol. 2, No. 4, Summer- Autumn 2016 International Journal of the Society of Iranian Archaeologists Fig. 11: The potteries of burial 14. Fig. 12: Samples of the potteries in burial

8 International Journal of the Society of Iranian Archaeologists Vol. 2, No. 4, Summer- Autumn 2016 N. inner Color Core Outer Maling method Fiting Temper Slip Inner Outer Inner Finish Inner Making Quality Inner Outer 1 Sand + Fine 2 dark low Sand + fine Fine 3 low Sand + fine Fine 4 Sand + ed ed 5 fine Fine 6 Sand + inclusions fine Fine 7 dark low Sand + fine Fine 8 Sand fine Fine 9 fine Fine 10 Sand + low fine fine 11 Sand + fine Fine 12 Sand + fine Fine 13 Sand + fine Fine 14 low Sand + ed 15 Wheel fine 16 ed 17 Large + low fine fine 18 Sand + 19 low ed 20 Large + 21 Sand + slip slip fine Fine Table. 1. Features of the potteries at Burial

9 Vol. 2, No. 4, Summer- Autumn 2016 International Journal of the Society of Iranian Archaeologists Fig. 13: The gifts of burial 14; two pendants (Nos. 22 & 23), the head pin (N. 24), one dagger (N. 25) & three earrings (N. 26). Burial 24 Burial 24 is located in the northern part of Trench B. This burial is in the form of a pit and it appears that the stone fragments, rubble stone and big stones were used to make the grave distinguished after the burial ceremony. It seems to have been a secondary burial (the body was probably first buried somewhere else and later transfer to this place). The dimension of the Burial 24 is cm. As being a secondary burial, only some parts of the skull and leg bones remained from the whole of the skeleton. Based on the remains, it can be infer that the body was placed in the southeastern - northwestern direction. The head was placed in the south eastern and legs in the north western directions. The burial is semi-closed in the southwestern - northeastern direction and belonged to a year-old male (i.e. the head facing north east) (figs. 14 & 15). The gifts put inside the grave were potteries and metal objects. The pottery assemblage of the grave was consisted of 7 vessels that can be classified into two groups based on their surface color so that 57% are and 43%. In the four cases, the fabric color is the same on the surface, in the number 5 the surface is and the fabric is black, in the numbers 1 & 2, the surfaces colors are dark and fabric has a brick color. The metal objects were consisted of two head pins one of which was detected near the skull and to the left side and the other one to the right of mandible. The end of the first bronze head pin was rounded and twisted into a loop. The second bronze head pin has grooves on one end and embossed at the bottom. These bronze pendants are in the form of spear head with heads bowed to up and shaping a circular (figs. 16 & 17). Fig. 14: Burial 24, Dated in the middle bronze age. 53

10 International Journal of the Society of Iranian Archaeologists Vol. 2, No. 4, Summer- Autumn 2016 Fig. 15: Burial 24 and its gifts Fig. 16: The gifts of burial 24; the vessels (Nos.1-7) and head pins in different shapes (Nos. 8-9). 54

11 Vol. 2, No. 4, Summer- Autumn 2016 International Journal of the Society of Iranian Archaeologists Fig. 17: Samples of the potteries in burial 24. N. Color Making Firing Slip Finish Making quality Temper Inner Core Outer Method grade Inner Outer Inner Outer Inner Outer 1 Brick 2 Brick 3 Brown 4 5 Brown Brick Brick Brown 6 Brown black Brown 7 Brown Brown Brown Wheel small + Wash Wash low fine small Wash Wash ed low fine small Wash Wash + + small + + Table. 2. Features of the potteries at Burial 24. ed fine wet wet Wash Wash Wash Wash ed ed low fine low fine Wash Wash Comparative chronology of the middle Bronze Age burials The comparative analysis of the ceramic assemblage and other items shows that these graves belong to the middle bronze age. The primary study data shows connection of vessels with sites such as Maikop, mound of three Valikant (later Early Bronze Age) Geoy Tepe C and D, Trialeti culture, Sos Höyük IVA, IVB and VC, Haftavan VIB (Middle Bronze Age), and some gifts in early Kurgan culture. Also the boss on some of the vessels handle could be seen in some potteries of Kurgan number 5 in Trialeti, Haftavan VIB and Geoy Tepe C in Middle Bronze Age. B. 14: N. 1: comparable to: Lyonnet 2000, fig. 3, N. 4; Burton Brown 1951, fig. 30, N. 950; Summers 1982, fig. 42, N. 5. B. 14: N. 2: comparable to: Burton Brown 1951, fig. 30, N. 961; Summers 1982, fig. 42, N. 6. B. 14: N. 3: comparable to: Schaefer 1948, fig. 289, N. 2; Sagona 2000, fig. 17, N. 1; Hamlin 1974, fig. 5, N. 43; summers 1982, fig. 53, N. 7. B. 14: N5: comparable to: Schaefer 1948, fig. 289, N. 2; Burton Brown 1951, fig. 30, N. 51; Summers 1982, fig. 46, N. 5; Sagona 2000, fig. 11, N. 1. B. 14: N. 6: comparable to: Schaefer 1948, fig. 289, N. 2; Hamlin 1974, fig. 5, N. 41; Summers 1982, fig. 48 N. 41. B. 14: N. 7: comparable to: Burton Brown 1951, fig. 20, N. 766; Edwards 1981, fig. 11, N. 7; Burton Brown 1951, fig. 22, N. 80; Summers 1982, fig. 86, N. 12. B. 14: N. 8: comparable to: Burton Brown 1951, fig. 25, N. 787; Edwards 1981, fig. 18, N. 11. B. 14:N. 9: comparable to: Schaefer 1948, fig. 292, N. 4; Burton Brown 1951, fig. 21, N. 87; Edwards 1981, fig. 18, N. 16; Hamlin 1974, fig. 2, N. 9; Summers 1982, fig. 26, N

12 International Journal of the Society of Iranian Archaeologists Vol. 2, No. 4, Summer- Autumn 2016 B. 14: N. 10: comparable to: Burton Brown 1951, fig. 19, N. 846; Edwards 1981, fig. 16, N. 19; Sagona 2000, fig.10, N. 6. B. 14: N. 11: comparable to: Edwards 1981, fig.13, N. 14; Sagona 2000, fig. 23, N. 5. B. 14: N. 12: comparable to: Edwards 1981, fig. 19, N. 12. B. 14: N. 13: comparable to: Sagona 2000, fig.17, N. 1; Burton Brown 1951, fig. 21, N. 882; Edwards 1981, fig. 11, N. 15; Hamlin 1974, fig. 1, N. 1; Kushnareva 1998, fig. 34, N. 13, Summers 1982, fig. 9, N. 8. B. 14: N. 14: comparable to: Burton Brown 1951: fig. 19, N. 79; Hamlin 1974, fig. 1, N. 2; Kushnareva 1997, fig. 36, N. 48; Summers 1982, fig. 4, N. 33. B. 14: N. 18: comparable to: Burton Brown 1951, fig. 20, N. 768; Schaefer 1948, fig. 289, N. 3. B. 14: N. 20: comparable to: Burton Brown 1951, fig. 20, N. 426; Edwards 1981, fig. 11, N. 13; Kushnareva 1997, fig. 36, N. 39. B. 14: N. 21: comparable to: Burton Brown 1951, fig. 20, N. 802; Edwards 1981, fig.11, N. 14. B. 14: N. 25: comparable to: Kushnareva 1997, fig. 34, N. 13; Kohl 2001, fig. 9, N B. 14: N. 26: comparable to: Kohl 2001, fig. 6, N. 344; Rubinson 1991, fig. 14, N. a; Kushnareva 1997, fig. 34, N. 7; Kohl 2001, fig. 6, N. 345; Burton Brown 1951, fig. 29, N. 1289; Hopkins 2003, fig. 28, N. 3; Kohl 2001, fig. 6, N. 156; Burton Brown 1951, fig. 29, N B. 24: N. 1: comparable to: Burton Brown 1951, fig. 19, N. 846; Edwards 1981, fig. 16, N. 19; Sagona 2000, fig. 10, N. 6. B. 24: N. 2: comparable to: Burton Brown 1951, fig. 20, N. 809; Edwards 1981, fig. 16, N. 24; Sagona 2000, fig. 18, N. 7; Summers 1982, fig. 65, N. 1. B. 24: N. 3: comparable to: Burton Brown 1951, fig. 21, N. 54; Edwards 1981, fig. 18, N. 8; Hamlin 1974, fig. 5, N. 42; Kushnareva 1997, fig. 43, N. 20. B. 24: N. 4: comparable to: Burton Brown 1951, fig. 7, N. 549; Edwards 1981, fig. 18, N. 29; Kushnareva 1997, fig. 43, N. 17; Sagona 2000, fig. 9, N. 6; Summers 1982, fig. 148, N. 149; Hopkins 2003, fig. 29, N. 3. B. 24: N. 5: comparable to: Hamlin 1974, fig. 4, N. 32. B. 24: N. 6: comparable to: Edwards 1981, fig. 15, N. 13; Sagona 2000, fig. 21, N. 7. B. 24: N. 7: comparable to: Sagona 2000, fig. 17, N. 5 B. 24: N. 8: comparable to: De Morgan 1905: 326, Nos. 776 & 778; Rubinson 1991, fig. 21, N. a; Kohl 2001, fig. 6, N B. 24: N. 9: comparable to: Rubinson 1991, fig. 21, N. c. The Iron Age I Burial 12 This grave is located in the northern part of Trench A. This is a pit grave lacking any structure. In other words, this type of graves has no particular architectural features and was created by digging a hole and placing the dead body there. Its dimension was cm and it belonged to a 30 to 35 year-old man buried semi-closed in northsouth direction with his face toward the southeast. The skeleton was found open above the waist and the lower parts such as pelvises and feet were folded and placed to the left side. It seems that during the burial, there was no deliberate attempt to create a smooth surface to place the dead body. The legs were placed on a level about 35 cm higher than the waist. The hands were folded and placed on the chest (figs. 18 & 19). The gifts put inside the grave were potteries, metal objects, and agate and frit beads. The pottery assemblage of this grave was consisted of 15 vessels that can be classified into three groups based on their surface colors: 63/5% are, 31/5% and 5% black. The fabric color can be classified into five groups: 40% is, 26/5%, 13/5 %, 13/5 % black and 6/5 % orange. In nine of them (Nos. 1, 2, 6, 7, 9, 12, 13, 14 & 15) both of the fabric and surface colors are similar. In six of them (Nos. 3, 4, 5, 8, 10 & 11) the fabric colors are different from the surface colors. Metal objects in the grave were consisted of one dagger, one head pin and a bronze earring. The bronze dagger was found in the central part of the grave and above the body. The twisted bronze earring was found around the face. The end of the bronze head pin was rounded and twisted into a loop and found in the western part of the grave. One dark agate bead in spherical shape was found around the neck and a blue frit bead in spherical form was found inside a bowl (figs. 20 & 21). 56

13 Vol. 2, No. 4, Summer- Autumn 2016 International Journal of the Society of Iranian Archaeologists Fig. 18: Burial 12, Iron age I. Fig. 19: Burial 12 and place of the gifts and the skeleton. 57

14 International Journal of the Society of Iranian Archaeologists Vol. 2, No. 4, Summer- Autumn 2016 Fig. 20: The gifts of burial 12; the potteries (Nos.1-15), a bronze dagger (N. 16), a bronze earring (N. 17), a bronze head pin (N. 18), one agate bead (N. 19) and a frit bead (N. 20). Fig. 21: Samples of the potteries in burial

15 Vol. 2, No. 4, Summer- Autumn 2016 International Journal of the Society of Iranian Archaeologists N. 1 2 Color Making Firing Slipe Finish Making Quality Temper Method Grade Inner Core Outer Inner Outer Inner Outer Inner Outer 3 Brown Brown 4 Brown 5 Brown 6 Brick Brick 7 Brown Brown Brown 8 Brown black 9 black black black 10 Brown 11 orange orange Brown Brown Brown Brown 14 Brown Brown Brown 15 Large Large & large fine slip fine slip - fine _ slip fine fine _ slip fine fine Table. 3. Features of the potteries at Burial 12. fine Burial 15 This grave was laid in trench B as a pit. That is, after the hole was dug and the burial ritual was performed, the grave was cove with a combination of dark clay and rubble. The dimension of the grave is cm and it belongs to a 20 to 25 year-old woman. The burial was in the north-south direction with the skeleton found in a semi-closed position. The body was faced to east and a small stone was placed below the skull which seems to be intentional. The skull was placed to the right. The upper part of the body was open and placed in the north-south direction. The legs were folded in a way that the right leg was placed on the left one and the hands were free (figs. 22 & 23). The gifts put inside the grave were potteries, metal objects, agate and frit beads. The pottery assemblage of this grave was consisted of 7 vessels that can be classified in two groups based on their surface colors: 70% is and 30%. Four cases of the potteries have fabric, two of them and one has black color. In the three cases (Nos. 1, 3 & 5) both the fabric and surface colors are similar. Metal objects of the grave are consisted of one dagger, one spear head, a needle, two U-shaped bronze objects, a bronze statue and an Iron bead. The bronze 59

16 International Journal of the Society of Iranian Archaeologists Vol. 2, No. 4, Summer- Autumn 2016 dagger and spear head were found in the western part of the grave. The bronze needle was found in the eastern side near the shoulders. The two U-shaped bronze objects were laid on the western side of the body. A bronze statue with quite stylized form associating with a female body was placed on the western side near the upper left shoulder and scapula of the dead bogy. An Iron bead lacking a specific shape, broken and deformed was found on the chest along other beads. The beads were consisted of a big circular clay bead, light blue in color placed on the west side of the grave near the left shoulder and scapula bones, a cylindrical glass bead, dark blue and yellow in color was laid on the western side, three frit beads in blue color, nearly circular and cylindrical in shape were laid on the chest and four decorative beads of different shapes, three of which were light blue color, as well as one dark agate have been found. These were scatte on the west side of the grave. It seems that all beads were part of a necklace that was tied around the neck of the deceased body (figs ). Fig. 22: The upper and lower levels of Burial 15, Dated in the Iron age I. Fig. 23: Burial 15 and location of the gifts with the human skeleton. 60

17 Vol. 2, No. 4, Summer- Autumn 2016 International Journal of the Society of Iranian Archaeologists Fig. 24: The gifts of burial 15; the vessels (Nos. 1-7), A bronze statue (N. 8), two U-Shaped bronze objects (Nos. 9-10), a bronze spear head (N. 11) and a bronze dagger (N. 12). Fig. 25: Samples of the potteries in burial

18 International Journal of the Society of Iranian Archaeologists Vol. 2, No. 4, Summer- Autumn 2016 Fig. 26: The gifts of burial 15; a bronze needle (N. 13), a big circular clay bead (N. 14), a glass bead (N. 15), three frit beads in blue color (Nos ) and a agate bead (N. 19). N Color Making Firing Slip Finish Making Quality Temper Inner Core Outer Method Grade Inner Outer Inner Outer Inner Outer Brown 4 Brown black Brown 5 Brown Brown Brown 6 Gray 7 Brown Gray Brown Large Fine fine fine fine Table. 4. Features of the potteries at Burial

19 Vol. 2, No. 4, Summer- Autumn 2016 International Journal of the Society of Iranian Archaeologists Burial 16 The grave is located in the northern part of trench B. This is also a kind of pit grave with no distinguishable features seen from the surface. It has the dimension of cm and the skeleton belonged to a 25 to 30 year-old man. It seems to be a secondary burial in that the deceased body was buried elsewhere, later transfer to this place and its burial rites were performed. The skeleton was laid on the left side in the north-south direction with the face towards south. Only the spine and chest of the skeleton are remained. Based on the bodily remains, it can be conjectu that the burial direction is southwest-northeast. The hand bones were unclear and the leg bones were placed in the north-south direction (figs. 27 & 28). The gifts put inside the grave were potteries and metal objects. The pottery assemblage of this grave was consisted of 2 vessels based on the surface color one grey and the other one. Both fabric and surface colors are similar. Metal objects of this grave were consisted of one dagger and a pendant. The bronze dagger was found in the southern part of the grave and the bronze pendant in spearhead form and the heads bowed to up and shaped as a circular were found inside the vessel in the eastern part of the grave (figs. 29 & 30). Fig. 27: Burial 16, Iron age I. Fig. 28: The bone remains at burial

20 International Journal of the Society of Iranian Archaeologists Vol. 2, No. 4, Summer- Autumn 2016 Fig. 29: The gifts of burial 16; two vessels (Nos.1-2), a bronze dagger (N. 3) and a bronze pendant (N. 4). Fig. 30: Samples of the potteries in burial 16. N. 1 Color Making Firing Slip Finish Making Quality Temper Inner Core Outer Method Grade Inner Outer Inner Outer Inner Outer 2 Brown Brown Brown - law Large - Table. 5. Features of the potteries at Burial

21 Vol. 2, No. 4, Summer- Autumn 2016 International Journal of the Society of Iranian Archaeologists Burial 25 Burial 25 is located in the northwestern part of Trench A. This is also a pit-type burial with dimension of cm. In the grave, a double burial was performed. Based on the chaotic nature of the skeletons it seems that a secondary burial was performed here. One of the burials belonged to a woman aged between 25 and 30 years and the other one belonged to a man of 30 to 35 years of age placed below the first one. The female skeleton was laid in a state of east-west direction with the face towards the north. Only the upper thoracic spine, chest and limbs are remained and considering the evidences, it can be conjectu that the upper part of the body was placed as an open vault. The conditions of the hands and feet are unknown. As the skeletons are damaged, it can be infer that the burial of this grave was secondary. There are about 15 cm layers of soil and rubble between the two skeletons in the grave. The burials are in an assembled state in the north-south direction with the face towards the east. With respect to the present evidences, the upper part of the body was laid as an open vault. Nothing much is left of limbs, hands and feet (figs. 31 & 32). The gifts put inside the grave are consisted of potteries and metal objects. The pottery assemblage is consisted of 11 vessels that can be classified in three groups based on their surface color: 57% grey, 38% and 5% black. The fabric colors include four cases, four, two black and one case. In the four cases (Nos. 3, 6, 7 & 8) both the fabric and surface colors are similar but the rest of them have different colors. The metal objects were consisted of two bronze head pins one of which was found inside the vessel number one which was rounded and twisted into a loop. The other metal object is a bronze earring that was found at the southern part of the grave and the bronze brooch was found on the chest of the deceased body (figs. 33 & 34). Fig. 31: Burial 25 and location of the gifts, Dated in the Iron age I. Fig. 32: The bone remains in burial

22 International Journal of the Society of Iranian Archaeologists Vol. 2, No. 4, Summer- Autumn 2016 Fig. 33: The gifts of burial 25; the vessels (Nos. 1-11), two head pins (Nos ) and a bronze earring (N. 14). Fig. 34: Samples of the potteries in burial

23 Vol. 2, No. 4, Summer- Autumn 2016 International Journal of the Society of Iranian Archaeologists N. color Making Firing Slip Finish Making Quality Temper Inner Core Outer Method Grade Inner Outer Inner Outer Inner Outer 1 Brown Black Brown 2 Brown Brick Brown 3 Brown Brown Brown Brown Brown 8 Brown Black Black Brown Brown low low low low low low Large Large Wash Wash Wash Wash Wash Wash Wash Wash Wash Wash Wash Wash Wash Wash Wash Wash Burnish Burnish Wash Wash - Wash Wash - - Wash Wash Burnish Table. 6. Features of the potteries at Burial 25. fine Comparative chronology of the Iron Age I burials The comparative analysis of the pottery assemblage and other items shows that these graves belong to Iron Age I. The primary study data shows a connection between these objects and objects from sites such as Haftavan V, Geoy Tepe B, Lameh Zamini, Ghale Kuti, Maryan, Chilakhaneh, Marlik, Leslukan, Agh Evlar, Sialk V, Qeytarieh, Khurvin, Yanik Tepe, Dinkha III and Shahr Yeri. B. 12: N. 1: comparable to: Schaeffer 1948, fig. 217, N. 39; Ghirshman 1939, Pl. XLVII, N. 443; Talai 2003, fig. 4, N. m. B. 12: N. 2: comparable to: Fukai and Matsutani 1982, Pl. 58, N. 4; Burney 1961, Pl. LXIV, N. 28. B. 12: N. 3: comparable to: Vanden Berghe 1964, Pl. 59; Khalatbari 2003, pl. 6, N. 6. B. 12: N. 4: comparable to: Schaeffer 1948, fig. 219, N. 5; Kambakhsh Fard 1992, Pl. 115, N. 942; Majidzadeh 2003, fig. 16. B. 12: N. 6: comparable to: Fukai and Matsutani 1982, Pl. 58, N. 4. B. 12: N. 5: comparable to: Dyson 1964, fig. 3, N. 7; Vanden Berghe 1964, Pl B. 12: N. 7: comparable to: Egami et al. 1965, Pl. LXXXVIII, N. 2. B. 12: N. 8: comparable to: Fukai and Matsutani 1982, Pl. 62, N. 30; Talai 2003, fig. 4, N. d. B. 12: N. 9: comparable to: Fukai and Matsutani 1982, Pl. 62, N. 7; Dyson 1964, fig. 3, N. 8; Talai 2003, fig. 4 N. g. B. 12: N. 10: comparable to: Talai 2003, fig. 4, N. k. B. 12: N. 11: comparable to: Kambakhsh Fard 1992, Pl. L110, N. 2024; Talai 2003, fig. 4, N. o. B. 12: N. 12: comparable to: Negahban 1996, fig. 22, N. 552; Ghirshman 1939, Pl. XLVI, N. 664b; Vanden Berghe 1964, Pl. 88; Egami et al 1965, Pl. XXXIX, N. 1. B. 12:N. 13: comparable to: Fukai and Matsutani 1982, Pl. 63, N. 4; Egami et al. 1965, Pl. LXII, N. 17; Talai 2003, fig. 1, N. k. B. 12: N. 14: comparable to: Egami et al. 1965, Pl. XLVIIa, N. 7; Talai 2003, fig. 2, N. u. B. 12: N. 15: comparable to: Fukai and Matsutani 1982, Pl. 59, N. 4; Talai 2003, fig. 1, N. f. 67

24 International Journal of the Society of Iranian Archaeologists Vol. 2, No. 4, Summer- Autumn 2016 B. 15: N. 1: comparable to: Talai 2003, fig. 5, N. c; Fukai and Matsutani 1982, Pl. 63, N. 3. B. 15: N. 2: comparable to: Talai 2003, fig. 4, N. d; Fukai and Matsutani 1982, Pl. 57, N. 1. B. 15: N. 3: comparable to: Egami et al. 1965, Pl. LXII, N. 17; Fukai and Matsutani 1982, Pl. 60, N. 10. B. 15: N. 4: comparable to: Ghirshman 1939, Pl. XXXVIII, N. 451b; Negahban 1996, fig. 17, N. 496; Majidzadeh 2003, fig. 20; Kambakhsh Fard 1992, Pl. 107, N. 1546; Vanden Berghe 1964, Pl B. 15:N. 5: comparable to: Fukai and Matsutani 1982, Pl. 60, N. 4; Lippert 1979, ABB6, N. 1; Talai 2003, fig. 8, N. n. B. 15: N. 6: comparable to: Talai 2003, fig. 8, N. d; Egami et al. 1965, Pl. XLVIII, N. 34. B. 15: N. 7: comparable to: Ghirshman 1939, Pl. XLIII, N. 530b; Talai 2003, fig. 4, N. n. B. 16: N. 1: comparable to: Fukai and Matsutani 1982, Pl. 62, N. 3; Talai 2003, fig. 3, N. f. B. 16: N. 2: comparable to: Muscarella 1974, fig. 47, N. 863; Egami et al. 1965, Pl. XLVIIa, N. 6; Majidzadeh 2003, fig.17; Kambakhsh Fard 1992, Pl. 110, N. 2023; Talai 2003, fig. 2 N. n. B. 25: N. 1: comparable to: Talai 2003, fig. 1, N. GG; Fukai and Matsutani 1982, Pl. 57, N. 1. B. 25: N. 2: comparable to: Egami et al. 1965, Pl. LXXX III, N. 8; Talai 2003, fig. 3 N. h. B. 25: N. 3: comparable to: Egami et al. 1965, Pl. XLV, N. 6; Majidzadeh 2003, fig. 17; Talai 2003, fig. 3, N. h. B. 25: N. 4: comparable to: Negahban 1996, fig. 27, N. 602; Talai 2003, fig. 1, N. k. B. 25: N. 5: comparable to: Talai 2003, fig. 1 N. II; Fukai and Matsutani 1982, Pl. 59, N. 2. B. 25: N. 6: comparable to: Egami et al. 1965, Pl. LIX, N. 1; Vanden Berghe 1964, Pl. 84; Negahban 1996, fig. 27, N. 607; Ebtehaj 2001, Pl. 3, N. 16. B. 25: N. 7: comparable to: Talai 2003, fig. 1, N. AA; Burton Brown 1951, fig. 32, N. 18. B. 25: N. 8: comparable to: Vanden Berghe 1964, Pl. 59; Kambakhsh Fard 1992, Pl. 110, N B. 25: N. 9: coparable to: Burton 1951, fig. 33, N. 1004; Talai 2003, fig. 2, N. s. B. 25: N. 11: coparable to: Talai 2003, fig. 1, N. f; Schaeffer 1948, fig. 217, N. 25; Fukai and Matsutani 1982, Pl. 59, N. 2. B. 25: N. 12 & 13: comparable to: De Morgan 1905, pp. 326, Nos. 776 & 778. Parthian burials Burial 18 This is located at the southeastern part of Trench B. This is a pit grave. The dimension of the Burial is cm. This was a single pit-burial belonging to a yearold male who was placed in the south-north direction (i.e. the head faced south). The skull was placed on the back. The dead was faced the north with slight inclination to the north-east. The skull was in such a position that the back portion seems to be intentionally and slightly elevated so that the face and body be in vertical position (fig. 35). The gifts put inside the grave were a short neck pottery placed at the western side of the grave, above the right shoulder of the skeleton. The other vessel is an open-ended earthen ware with a projected rim on the western side, on the left shoulder of the skeleton (fig. 36). The fabric color of both are brick, but the surface colors are different, one of them (N. 1) is brick and the other one dark. The third is a short-neck earthen ware found on the western side of the grave. The most remarkable and attractive point at this burial is an iron material hidden on the western side with the pelvises. Along with these materials, at a distance of 2 cm on the western side, a purple colo spherical stone with plain surface was placed. Considering its volume, this small stone is quite heavy. Based on the remains of this iron material, it seems to be a weighing lever. The presence of a stone along this material makes it evident that this probably was used as a weighing load. Fig. 35: Burial 18 and location of the gifts, Dated in Parthian period. 68

25 Vol. 2, No. 4, Summer- Autumn 2016 International Journal of the Society of Iranian Archaeologists Fig. 36. The potteries of burial 18. N 1 2 Color Making Firing Slip Finish Making Quality Temper Inner Core Outer Method Grade Inner Outer Inner Outer Inner Outer Brick Brick Brick Brick Wheel slip slip fined Table. 7. Features of the potteries at Burial 18. Burial 20 This grave is located at the south western part of trench B. This burial is in the form of a pit and it seems that after the burial ceremony, the stone fragments, rubble stone and the big stones were used to make it distinguished. It seems to be a second burial of a body that was buried somewhere else and later transfer to this place. The dimension of the grave is and belonged to a year-old male. This being the second burial, only parts of skull and leg bones are remained from the whole of the skeleton. Based on these remains, it seems that the body was placed in the south-north direction (figs. 37 & 38). The head at the south is a little tilted toward the southeast direction and the feet in the north are tilted slightly toward the northwest. No gifts were placed inside this grave. Its chronology was set with reference to the placement of the dead body in other similar burials of the Parthian era. Fig. 37: Burial 20. Dated in the Parthian period. Fig. 38: Burial

26 International Journal of the Society of Iranian Archaeologists Vol. 2, No. 4, Summer- Autumn 2016 Burial 21 This burial is located in the southern part of trench B. This is also a pit burial with a cm dimension. It is a single burial belonging to a year-old woman. The burial is semi-closed in the north-south direction. The head is faced to the south. The skull is placed toward the left side (fig. 39). No gifts were placed inside in the grave. Its chronology was set with reference to the placement of the dead body in other such burials of the Parthian period. Burial 22 Fig. 39: Burial 21, Dated in the Parthian period. Burial 22 is located in the southern part of trench B. This one is also a pit burial with an cm dimension. It is a single burial of a year-old woman. The burial is semi-closed in the north-south direction. The head is faced to the south. The skull is placed toward the left side. The gifts put inside this grave include: a bronze ring on a right finger. This bronze ring was ly spherical with two open ends. A conical earthen spindle whorl was placed on the western side of the grave along the pelvis. This buff color spindle whorl is hand-. Earthenware with open and projected mouth is also placed on the western side along the pelvis. This brick-color vessel is also hand-. A low-necked earthen ware vessel which was found on the western side of the grave is also brickcolo and hand- (figs. 40 & 41). The fabric colors of the potteries are brick, too. Fig. 40: Burial 22 and location of the gifts, Dated in the Parthian period. 70

27 Vol. 2, No. 4, Summer- Autumn 2016 International Journal of the Society of Iranian Archaeologists Fig. 41: Burial 22 The gifts of burial 22; two potteries (Nos. 1-2), a conical spindle (N. 3) & a bronze ring (N. 4). N. 1 2 Color Making Firing Slip Finish Making Quality Temper Inner Core Outer Method Grade Inner Outer Inner Outer Inner Outer Brick Brick Brick Brick Brick Brick wet wet - - Wash - - Table. 8. Features of the potteries at Burial 22. Comparative chronology of the Parthian burials All four burials of the Parthian era at Khanghah Gilavan are pit types. On the whole, the pit-burial was one of the prevalent methods during Parthian period. Apart from these burials at Khanghah Gilavan such burials have been found from Sad Eskandar Tepe in Gorgan (Saeedi Harsini 1996), Sang Shir cemetery in Hamadan (Azarnoosh 1975, 1976), Cheshme Saar at Takht-e-Jamshid (Schmidt 1975) and Veskeh Tepe (Khalatbari 2003). Open-bit burials, the samples of which were found at burial 18 of Gilavan were common practices during the Parthian. Therefore, apart from Gilavan, they have also been found at Sang Shir of Hamadan (Azarnoosh 1975, 1976), Kangavar (Kambakhsh Fard 1967, 1971, 1995), Susa (Ghirshman 1948), Cheshme Saar at Takht-e-Jamshid (Schmidt 1975), Sad Eskandar at Gorgan (Saeedi Harsini 1996), Veskeh and Mianrud (Khalatbari 2003). Closed burials visible at burial 21 and 22 of Gilavan cemetery were also employed by the Parthian and have been found at Sang Shir (Azarnoosh 1975, 1976), Kangavar (Kambakhsh Fard 1967, 1971, 1995), Tagh Bostan (Kambakhsh Fard 1995) and Veskeh and Mianrud (Khalatbari 2003). The South-north direction followed in all Parthian burials at Khanghah Gilavan cemetery was a 71

28 International Journal of the Society of Iranian Archaeologists Vol. 2, No. 4, Summer- Autumn 2016 unique method not observed at the other cemeteries of this period. The second burial at Gilvan (Burial 20) also has a unique feature not found at the other contemporary cemeteries. Pottery samples with a geometrical body and projected rim were prevalent during the Parthian period. Samples of them were selected from Shahr-e- Ghomis belonging to the Parthian (Stronach 1974: fig. 4, no. 3). It is evident that this kind of pottery was prevalent during the 3 rd phase of Iron Age up to the Parthian. The samples (B. 22: N. 3) at Gilavan including vessels with a geometrical and boat-shaped body along with a concave mouth and spherical base were prevalent in areas between Iran and Mesopotamia (Iron Age III). It is certain that, these vessels were continued in some Iranian regions until the end of the first century B.C i.e. the middle of the Parthian era. Furthermore, similar potteries have also been found at Bard where yellow color paste was employed and they were identical in form and shape with the potteries found at Gilavan cemetery. The chronology presented at Bard shows an early period i.e B.C (Haerinck 1983: 33). Likewise, samples of these vessels have also been found from Nushijan Tepe (III) which also was related to the Parthian period. These pottery samples related to the Parthian have also been unearthed in Sistan where they were refer to Italian archeologists as painted ware of the historical period. These painted ware samples containing features of eastern Iran and southwestern Afghanistan have been distinguished from those of the layer III to layer IV of Kuh Khajeh-Qale Sam, Qale Tepe, Nadali Tepe. This is a native-type pottery that began from the 3 rd century B.C and probably continued throughout the whole Parthian period. Conclusion Gilavan cemetery is one of the unique examples of ancient cemeteries in Iran. Primary studies have shown that these burials cover an area of about 300 hectares. Furthermore, this cemetery was used for a longer period of time. As such, based on a limited study conducted there, burials from the Middle Bronze Age to the Parthian period were found. The current paper attempted to evaluate 10 burials found during the first season of archeological excavation. Two burials discove in this site in the first season of excavation belonged to Middle Bronze Age. These burials are in the form of pit graves and were single burials. No particular direction was observed in the burials. The secondary burial at Burial 24 is one of the unique examples of the Middle Bronze Age burial practices which were not seen in the other cemeteries. The objects obtained from these burials are comparable with those from the other sites of the Middle Bronze Age such as: Maikop, mound of three Valikant (late of Early Bronze Age), Geoy Tepe C and D, Trialeti culture, Sos Höyük IVA, IVB and VC, Haftavan VIB (Middle Bronze Age), and some gifts in the early kurgan culture. Among the most important burials unearthed there, a majority of them belonged to the Iron Age. All of the burials related to this period are pit graves. In other words, burial rites could be performed after digging the pits. The dimension of the burial was in accordance with the stature of the dead person along with the space needed to place gifts offe to the dead body. It seems that rubble stones and rock pieces were used after the burial rites in order to identify the place of burial. Usually, they were single burials but in some cases double burials (Burial 25) were performed, too. No particular direction seems to be observed in the burials. The secondary burial at Burial 16 is one of the unique examples of the Iron Age burial practices which were seen in other cemeteries. The objects obtained from the aforementioned burials are comparable with the data obtained from the other sites of Iron Age I such as Marlik Tepe, Lameh zamini, Ghale kuti, Hasanlu V, Kordlar Tepe, Yanik Tepe, Sialk V, Qeytariyeh, Geoy Tepe B, Dinkha III, Shahr Yeri, Sagzabad, Laslukan, Mariyan, Chyr Chyr, Ghabrestan, Khurvin, Haftavan V, Agh Evlar, Chilakhaneh and Uzbeki. Furthermore, among the graves found in the first season of excavation, there were four graves belonging to the Parthian period. These graves are pit graves where the dead body was placed after digging a ditch. The dimension of the pit was usually in accordance with the space needed for the dead body as well as for the gifts. The burials usually contained a single body in the south-north direction as the head and feet were on the southern and northern sides, respectively. They were usually pit graves. Apart from Gilavan, the pit-burial samples of the Parthian have also been found at Sad Eskandar Tepe in Gorgan (one sample), Sang Shir of Hamadan (48 samples), Cheshme Saar at Takht-e-Jamshid (7 samples) and Veskeh (3 samples). Open-pit burial conditions were also common during the Parthian period and apart from Gilavan, they have been found at the cemeteries of Sang Shir of Hamadan, Kangavar, Susa, Cheshmeh Saar at Takht-e-Jamshid, Sad Eskandar at Gorgan, Veskeh and Mianrud. Likewise, closed-pit burials related to the Parthian have been found at Sang Shir of Hamadan, Kangavar, Tagh Bostan, Germi, Veskeh and Mianrud. Regarding the burial direction, usually in south and north, it was a unique method that was not observed in the other cemeteries except Gilavan cemetery. References Azarnoosh, M., 1975 Excavations of Sang Shir Enclosures. In: Bagherzadeh, F. 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