Bibliographia Iranica

A predominantly bibliographic blog for Iranian Studies

Tag: Archaeology

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

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

    Kallas, Nathalie (ed.). 2025. Bridging the gap: Disciplines, times, and spaces in dialogue. Vol. 2. Oxford: Archaeopress.

    This volume gathers the papers presented at sessions 3, 7 and 8 from the conference Broadening Horizons 6, held at the Freie Universität Berlin, 24–28 June 2019, and is available in open access.

    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 relevant 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

  • A Numismatic History of Barikot

    Shavarebi, Ehsan. 2025. A numismatic history of Barikot (Veröffentlichungen zur Numismatik 69). Verlag der österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. With a contribution by Luca M. Olivieri.

    This volume offers a ‘catalogue and analysis of the coin finds from the excavations at Bīr-koṭ-ghwaṇḍai (Barikot), Swāt, Pakistan (1984–2022)’.

    For the table of contents, see here.

    The present volume explores the coins unearthed during the excavations at the ancient city of Barikot (Swāt Valley, northern Pakistan) between 1984 and 2022. The excavations of the Italian Archaeological Mission at Barikot have revealed numerous settlement phases from the prehistoric to the Islamic times. Of particular significance are over 500 coin finds, which are placed in their historical context in this volume to draw a clear picture of the monetary circulation in the Swāt Valley (Uḍḍiyāna) throughout antiquity and the early Islamic period. The chronological framework of the coin finds spans from the third century BCE to the twelfth century CE, i.e., from the Indian Maurya dynasty to the Ghaznavids. The majority of the coin finds are from the Kušān period (first to fourth century CE). Various historical, typological, metrological, and topographical aspects of the coinage and monetary circulation of each period are addressed in separate chapters. The finds from Barikot are also compared with those from other documented sites in Uḍḍiyāna, Gandhāra, and adjacent regions in the Indo-Iranian borderlands. What should be highlighted is the stratigraphic documentation of the find contexts, which, based on the radiocarbon analyses, makes it possible to bring the coins into relation with other types of archaeological artifacts. This subject is discussed in an archaeological contribution by the director of the excavations, Luca M. Olivieri.

  • Ash-Sharq

    Ash-Sharq

    The two issues of volume 8 of Ash-Sharq are published and contain several interesting contributions. Below are listed the articles that deal with Iranian studies:

  • New Voices in Iranian Archaeology

    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

    Description

  • 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.

  • 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

  • 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.

    Abstract
    (more…)

  • Iran, Volume 62, Issue 1 (2024)

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

  • 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.

  • 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?