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Document Details : Title: The Formation of the Early Bronze Age Jiroft Culture, Halil Rud Basin, Southeastern Iran Subtitle: Excavations at Varamin/Jiroft 2017 Author(s): ESKANDARI, Nasir , PFÄLZNER, Peter , SOLEIMANI, Nader Alidadi Journal: Ancient Near Eastern Studies Volume: 60 Date: 2023 Pages: 5-91 DOI: 10.2143/ANES.60.0.3292567 Abstract : This paper presents the results of the first season of archaeological excavations at the site of Varamin in the Jiroft Plain, the core of the Halil Rud Basin in Southeastern Iran. The site of Varamin is a key site to understand the chronology and cultural development of the Jiroft region during the fourth and third millennia BC. Thus, the project seeks to address one of the fundamental questions of the archaeology of the Halil Rud Basin, that is, the transition process from the Late Chalcolithic to the Early Bronze Age and the emergence of the Jiroft culture of the third millennium BC. The excavations have demonstrated that Varamin possesses cultural material from the Late Chalcolithic III to the Early Bronze Age II. Based on a stratigraphic sequence, four successive periods could be defined: the Late Aliabad Period (Late Chalcolithic III), the Varamin A Period (Earl Bronze Age I), the Varamin B Period (Early Bronze Age IIA) and the Jiroft A Period (Early Bronze Age IIB). This new periodisation system for the Jiroft region is backed by twelve 14C AMS radiocarbon dates. Furthermore, it was possible to excavate a rich burial (Tomb B1), which contained 78 complete pottery vessels and six metal objects. The tomb is attributed to the Varamin B Period and dates to between 3100 and 2900 BC. It is one of the few burials in the Halil Rud Basin which was found not looted and able to be investigated in a stratigraphically controlled manner. It furnishes invaluable insight into funerary customs of the Jiroft region at the beginning of the Early Bronze Age. In conclusion, Varamin offers new insights into the formation of the Jiroft civilisation based on developments of the fourth millennium BC. |
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