Sasanian archaeology : settlements, environment and material culture

The Sasanian empire was one of the great powers of Late Antiquity, and for four centuries ruled the vast region stretching from Syria and the Caucasus to Central Asia. Classical, Armenian, Jewish and Arab written sources throw light on its history, and studies of its rock reliefs, stuccoes, silver, silks, coins and glyptic have created a picture of a rich courtly culture with a strong Iranian character. However, the everyday material culture is much less understood, as is the economy which sustained and supported the Sasanian empire and underpinned its consistent military superiority over its western rivals. This collection of essays looks at these aspects and offers an approach based almost entirely on archaeological and scientific research, much presented here for the first time. This book is divided into three parts which in turn examine evidence for Sasanian sites, settlements and landscapes, their complex agricultural resources, and their crafts and industries. Each section is preceded by an essay setting out the wider research questions and current state of knowledge. The book begins and ends with a general introduction and conclusion setting out why this new approach is necessary, and how it helps change our perceptions of the complexity and power of the Sasanian empire. St John Simpson is a senior curator and archaeologist in the Department of the Middle East at the British Museum. He specialises in the archaeological evidence and material culture of the Sasanian empire, has published extensively on this subject, excavated Sasanian sites in Iraq and Central Asia, and analysed Sasanian finds from the Persian Gulf to Iran and the Caucasus. At the Museum he has curated three major special exhibitions: Scythians: warriors of ancient Siberia (2017/18), Afghanistan: Crossroads of the Ancient World (2011), and Queen of Sheba: Treasures from Ancient Yemen (2002), as well as three successive galleries for ancient Iran, the most recent being the Rahim Irvani Gallery which opened in 2007. His previous books with Archaeopress include Masters of the Steppe (2020), In Context. The Reade Festschrift (2020), Softstone (2018), and Looted, Recovered, Returned: Antiquities from Afghanistan (2014). Cover 1 Title Page 3 Copyright page 4 Contents Page 5 General Introduction 7 St John Simpson 7 PART ONE: Sites, Settlements and Landscapes 26 Part One: Sites, Settlements and Landscapes - Introduction 27 St John Simpson 27 Parthian and Sasanian Site and Settlement Patterns on the Deh Luran Plain, Khuzistan Province, South-West Iran 53 J.A. Neely 53 The Sasanian Colonisation of the Mughan Steppe, Ardebil Province, North-West Iran 86 Jason Ur1 and Karim Alizadeh2 86 The Army and Urbanism at the Sasanian Empire’s Northern Frontiers:Fieldwork on the Linear Barriers, Fortresses and Cities at the Margins of the Gorgan Plain (Results of a Joint Project Between the Iranian Cultural Heritage, Handicraft and Tourism Organisa 96 Hamid Omrani Rekavandi (HO), Eberhard W. Sauer (EWS), Tony J. Wilkinson (TW),† Ghorban Ali Abbasi (GA), Roger Ainslie (RA), Francesco Caputo (FC), Mohammad Ershadi (ME), Morteza Fattahi (MF), Nikolaus Galiatsatos (NG), Kristen Hopper (KH), Julian Jansen V 96 A Temple Among the Fields: Preliminary Reconstruction of an Agricultural Landscape in the Serakhs Oasis, Southern Turkmenistan 109 Barbara Kaim 109 Excavations at Kirpichli depe in Dehistan 115 A.E. Atagarryev 115 The First Season of Excavations at the Sasanian Site of Tole Qaleh Seyfabad (TQS), South-west Iran: Preliminary Report 133 Parsa Ghasemi,1 Reza Noruzi2 and Azizallah Rezaei3 133 Sasanian and Early Islamic Settlement Patterns North of the Persian Gulf 147 Ahmadali Asadi,1 Seyed Mehdi Mousavi Kouhpar,2 Javad Neyestani,2 Alireza Hojabri Nobari3 147 Bushehr, Dashtestan and Siraf: the Transformation of the Maritime Trade Network in the Middle Persian Gulf 159 Seth, M. N. Priestman 159 PART TWO: Environment and Resources 184 Charcoal and Wood in Fuel Residues in Sasanian and Early Islamic Merv: Wood Resources and Environmental Implications 198 Rowena Gale 198 Exploitation of Wood at Kush (Ras Al-Khaimah, UAE) in Sasanian Times: Results of the Charcoal Analysis 218 Margareta Tengberg 218 Two Sasanian Archaeofaunas from the Hamrin Basin, Eastern Iraq 230 F.G. Fedele 230 Fracture Patterns Amongst Sasanian Bones at Merv 238 Ian Smith 238 PART THREE: Material Culture 244 Part Three: Material Culture - Introduction 245 St John Simpson 245 Sasanian Pottery: Archaeological Evidence for Production, Circulation and Diachronic Change 261 St John Simpson 261 Imitations and Innovations in Kushano-Sasanian Pottery 381 V.A. Zavyalov† 381 Parthian, Sasanian and Islamic Pottery and Occupation of the Deh Luran Plain, South-west Iran 395 David V. Hill 395 Magic and Inter-Communal Relations in Sasanian Iraq: the Case of the Incantation Bowls 402 Ali G. Scotten 402 The Dating of Sasanian Glass in the Light of Excavated Finds from Bahrain 426 S.F. Andersen 426 Reconstruction of the Process of Cutting of Two Sasanian Glass Bowls in the Okayama Orient Museum and the British Museum 437 Tami Ishida 437 Sasanian Swords and Scabbards in the British Museum: A Scientific Analysis 451 J. Lang1 and St J. Simpson2 451 General Conclusion 480 St John Simpson 480 Bibliography 483 Index 529 Contents 5 General Introduction 7 St John Simpson 7 Part One: Sites, Settlements and Landscapes - Introduction 26 St John Simpson 26 St John Simpson 26 Parthian and Sasanian Site and Settlement Patterns 53 J.A. Neely 53 The Sasanian Colonisation of the Mughan Steppe 86 Jason Ur and Karim Alizadeh 86 The Army and Urbanism 96 Hamid Omrani Rekavandi 96 A Temple Among the Fields 109 Barbara Kaim 109 Excavations at Kirpichli depe in Dehistan 115 A.E. Atagarryev 115 The First Season of Excavations at the Sasanian Site 133 Parsa Ghasemi 133 Sasanian and Early Islamic Settlement Patterns 147 Ahmadali Asadi 147 Bushehr, Dashtestan and Siraf 159 Seth, M. N. Priestman 159 Part Two: Environment and Resources - Introduction 184 St John Simpson 184 St John Simpson 184 Charcoal and Wood in Fuel Residues 198 Rowena Gale 198 Exploitation of Wood at Kush 218 Margareta Tengberg 218 Two Sasanian Archaeofaunas from the Hamrin Basin 230 F.G. Fedele 230 Fracture Patterns Amongst Sasanian Bones at Merv 238 Ian Smith 238 St John Simpson 244 Part Three: Material Culture - Introduction 244 St John Simpson 244 Sasanian Pottery 261 St John Simpson 261 Imitations and Innovations in Kushano-Sasanian Pottery 381 V.A. Zavyalov 381 Parthian, Sasanian and Islamic Pottery and Occupation 395 David V. Hill 395 Magic and Inter-communal Relations in Sasanian Iraq 402 Ali G. Scotten 402 The Dating of Sasanian Glass 426 S.F. Andersen 426 Reconstruction of the Process of Cutting of Two Sasanian Glass Bowls 437 Tami Ishida 437 Sasanian Swords and Scabbards in the British Museum 451 J. Lang and St J. Simpson 451 General Conclusion 480 St John Simpson 480 Bibliography 483 Index 529 This collection of essays offers an examination of the Sasanian empire based almost entirely on archaeological and scientific research, much presented here for the first time. The book is divided into three parts examining Sasanian sites, settlements and landscapes; their complex agricultural resources; and their crafts and industries.