Tag: Archaeology

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New Voices in Iranian Archaeology

Alizadeh, Karim & Megan Cifarelli (eds.). 2024. New voices in Iranian archaeology. Barnsley: Oxbow Books.

This volume highlights the excellent, wide-ranging work of a diverse collection of Iranian archaeologists, the new voices in Iranian archaeology. Archaeology in Iran has developed in lockstep with the discipline of archaeology itself, in part due to the colonial endeavors that provided impetus for Europeans to travel to distant lands and extract antiquities and other commodities. But centuries before western archaeologists broke ground on excavations in the lands that would in 1935 be called Iran, a deep and meaningful engagement with and reverence for the past was a thread running through Iranian culture since antiquity. For millennia, the residents and rulers of ancient Iranian lands have admired, interacted with, inscribed, invented stories about, and imitated the visible, often ruined, monuments of their ancestors that dotted the landscape

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Mannea and beyond

Naseri, Reza, Mehrdad Malekzadeh, Andrea Cesaretti & Roberto Dan. 2024. Mannea and beyond: A study of Iron Age and later pottery from Zanjan in the National Museum of Iran. Antilia.

The volume Mannea and Beyond: A Study of Iron Age and Later Pottery from Zanjan in the National Museum of Iran presents a systematic analysis of a ceramic assemblage from Zanjan, stored in Iran’s National Museum. Due to the lack of archaeological context—these artefacts were retrieved through illegal excavations—the study focuses on typology, preservation, and precise comparisons with neighbouring sites. The assemblage is heterogeneous, largely from the Iron Age with some medieval pieces, with several items linked to the Mannaean culture, enriching our understanding of this relatively obscure cultural horizon. The excellent preservation suggests that the materials may originate from a necropolis with unknown position.

Source: Reza Naseri’s social media page.

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Iran, Volume 62, Issue 2 (2024)

The table of contents of the latest issue (62/2) of the journal Iran:

  • Abbas Moghaddam & Elnaz Rashidian: Visiting Tol-e Tahmachi, a Fifth Millennium BCE Settlement in the Persian Gulf Littoral, Southwest Iran
  • Sheler Amelirad & Behroz Khanmohamadi: Typological Study of Metal Pins in Northwestern Iran Based on the Bayazid Abad (Bayazi Awa) Archaeological Assemblage
  • Mostafa Dehpahlavan & Zahra Alinezhad: The Cylinder Seals of Qareh Tepe in Sagzabad, Iron Age II and III
  • Mohsen Javeri & Majid Montazer Zohouri: Vigol and Harāskān Fire Temple: Archaeological Evidence About the Veneration of Fire in the Center of the Iranian Plateau During the Sasanian Period
  • Shahram Jalilian & Touraj Daryaee: The Image of the Sasanian King in the Perso-Arabic Historical Tradition
  • Esmaeil Sangari, Zohreh Noori, Amirhossein Moghaddas, Aliakbar Abbasi & Reza Dehghani: The Iconography of Dancers and Their Garments on Sasanid Silver Vessels (Case Study: Four Silver Vessels with Different Features)
  • Michael Shenkar: The So-Called “Fravašis” and the “Heaven and Hell” Paintings, and the Cult of Nana in Panjikent
  • Moujan Matin: A Medieval Stonepaste Ceramic Production Site in Moshkin Tepe, Iran: Ceramics, Wasters, and Manufacturing Equipment
  • Philip Henning Grobien: The Origins and Intentions of the Anglo-Persian Agreement 1919: A Reassessment
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Wine Cultures

Antonetti, Claudia, Bryan De Notariis & Marco Enrico (eds.). 2024. Wine cultures: Gandhāra and beyond (Antichistica 40). Venezia: Venice University Press.

The volume Wine Cultures. Gandhāra and Beyond represents the primary outcome of the MALIWI project (SPIN Ca’ Foscari 2021) directed by Claudia Antonetti. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, this work seeks to explore the production techniques, social functions, and cultural significance of intoxicating drinks with particular reference to wine – an extraordinary beverage that has been intertwined with human history for millennia. This volume gathers contributions by scholars interested in studying wine and drinking culture in Gandhāra and neighbouring regions, including Ancient Assyria, Arachosia, and present-day India. The topic is explored from three fundamental perspectives, employing a diverse range of sources, including literary and historical texts, as well as linguistic, iconographic, archaeological, and anthropological evidence.

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Bridging the Gap: Disciplines, Times, and Spaces in Dialogue

Kallas, Nathalie (ed.). 2024. Bridging the gap: Disciplines, times, and spaces in dialogue – Volume 2: Sessions 3, 7 and 8 from the Conference Broadening Horizons 6 Held at the Freie Universität Berlin, 24–28 June 2019. Oxford: Archaeopress.

The second volume compiles papers presented in three enlightening sessions: Session 3 – Visual and Textual Forms of Communication; Session 7 – The Future of the Past. Archaeologists and Historians in Cultural Heritage Studies; and Session 8 – Produce, Consume, Repeat. History and Archaeology of Ancient Near Eastern Economies. Within this volume, the 20 papers traverse diverse topics spanning multiple periods, from the 5th millennium BCE to the Roman Empire, and encompass a wide array of geographical regions within the Near East.

Among other interesting contributions, the following papers deal with aspects of ancient Iranian history and culture:

  • Delphine Poinsot: Sexuation of animals’ bodies in the bullae from Qasr-I Abu Nasr
  • Olivia Ramble: Generations of Writing: The Secondary Inscriptions of Darius’ tacara at Persepolis
  • Takehiro Miki: Deciphering the Skills of the Prehistoric Painting Technique: Case Study of the Painted Pottery of the 5th Millennium BCE from Tall-e Bakun A (Fars province, Iran)
  • Yazdan Safaee: Persian Female Weavers in the Persepolis Economy
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Iran, Volume 62, Issue 1 (2024)

The table of contents of the latest issue (62/1) of the journal Iran:

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In Search of Cultural Identities in West and Central Asia

Colburn, Henry P., Betty Hensellek & Judith A. Lerner (eds.). 2023. In Search of Cultural Identities in West and Central Asia: A Festschrift for Prudence Oliver Harper (Inner and Central Asian Art and Archaeology 3). Turnhout: Brepols.

How do we reconstruct ancient societies’ cultural and visual identities? Prudence Oliver Harper has dedicated her scholarly and curatorial career to piecing together the material culture of communities across ancient Western Asia, Iran, and Central Asia. A number of her colleagues – art historians, archaeologists, philologists, and conservators – have contributed essays to this volume to reflect Harper’s range of contributions throughout her six-decade career. Many of the essays focus on ancient metalwork, Harper’s major expertise, while others on glyptics, ivory, or glass, three of her other interests. The essays aim to make sense of this region’s diverse cultural identities, many of which are the results of cross-cultural exchange. Some authors have employed iconographical or socio-historical approaches; others have complementarily opened new facets of cultural identities through technical and scientific analyses, collection history, and provenance research.

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Iranica Antiqua, Volume 58

The table of contents of the latest issue (58) of the journal Iranica Antiqua:

  • Enrico ASCALONE, Pierfrancesco VECCHIO: Shahr-i Sokhta New Revised Sequence
  • Roberto DAN, Annarita S. BONFANTI: Seals and Sealing in Bia/Urartu. The Inscribed Seal
  • Hanna VERTIIENKO: A ‘Rooster-Man’ on the Gold Plate from Soboleva Mohyla
  • Eduard RUNG: On Metonomasia in the Achaemenid Dynasty
  • Marco FERRARIO: Just Send me Words. The Imperial Political Economies of Ancient Bactria
  • Rika GYSELEN, Hamid ZOHOORIAN: Deux sceaux sassanides avec le motif de l’autel du feu et la formule ātaxš … deh nišāst
  • D.T. Potts: The Antiquity and Nature of Horseshoeing in Iran
  • Clélia PALADRE: Rediscovering Mudbrick Architecture in Susa Fantasy or Reality?
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The Oxford Handbook of Palmyra

Raja, Rubina (ed.). 2024. The Oxford handbook of Palmyra. New York: Oxford University Press.

The monumental remains of Palmyra (also known as Tadmor) have fascinated travelers and scholars for centuries. The Oxford Handbook of Palmyra gives a detailed analysis of the archaeology and history of this ancient oasis city in the Syrian Desert, spanning evidence from several millennia. With contributions from thirty archaeologists, epigraphists, historians, and philologists, this book covers the city’s archaeological findings and history from its earliest mentions in the pre-Roman era to the destruction of many of its monuments during the Syrian Civil War and the subsequent looting. The authors recap evidence and present significant new findings and analyses from fieldwork they or others undertook in Palmyra prior to the 2011 conflict and discuss the recent occupation by ISIS and calls to defend the site’s remains from current and future threats.

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Caspian: Volume 1, Issue 1

Caspian is an international, peer reviewed journal, publishing high-quality, original research. Caspian is a journal devoted to archaeology, anthropology, history, art, linguistics, religion, epigraphy, and numismatics of the Caspian Sea region, encompassing both prehistoric and historic periods. The journal’s geographic range spans Caspian Sea Region, Caucasus, and Transoxiana.

Table of contents:

  • Shahin Aryamanesh: Introduction to the Inaugural Issue of Caspian
  • Shahin Aryamanesh: Obituary: Philippe Gignoux
  • Mehdi Rahbar: Miniature Motifs on the Ossuaries of the Bandian Dargaz Fire Temple
  • Seyed Rasoul Mousavi Haji; Mohammad Hasan Zaal; Mona Mousavi: The Study of the Factors Considered in Locating Eastern Guilan Castles (Case Study: Amlash Castles)
  • Arshak Iravanian: Archaeology and History of Nowshahr, Iran
  • Ajdar Mehriban Xosbext: Middle Persian Inscriptions of the Era of Khosrow Anushirvan in Darband, Caucasus (Dagestan)