Ezatollah Negahban (; March 1, 1926 – 2 February 2009 -استاد عزت الله نگهبان، "پدر باستان شناسی مدرن ايران" درگذشت
/ref>) was an Iranian

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

known as the father of

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

ian modern

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

Biography

Prof. Ezat O. Negahban was born

Ahvaz Ahvaz (; ) is a city in the Central District of Ahvaz County, Khuzestan province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is home to Persians, Arabs and other groups such as Qashqai and Kurds. Languages spok ...

. After graduating from Firouz Bahram High School, In 1949 he finished his BA in archaeology at the

University of Tehran The University of Tehran (UT) or Tehran University (, ) is a public collegiate university in Iran, and the oldest and most prominent Iranian university located in Tehran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as ...

and in 1954 he received his MA in archaeology from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

, after completing his thesis under Donald McCown. He was appointed

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a position ...

in the Department of Archaeology, University of Tehran, in 1955, and was made a

full Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a 'person who professes'. Professors ...

in 1962. He served as chairman of the department from 1967 to 1978, and as Dean of the Faculty of Letters and Humanities from 1975 to 1979. He was

Technical Director A technical director (TD) is usually a senior technical person within e.g. a software company, engineering firm, film studio, theatre company or television studio. They are responsible for overseeing and coordinating all of the technical aspect ...

of the Iranian Archaeological Service from 1960 to 1965, and served as Technical Advisor of the Iranian Ministry of Culture from 1965 to 1979. He served as a Visiting

Curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...

at the University Museum of the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

from 1980 until 2000. He was chief scientist in many excavations on

ian ancient sites including Marlik, near Rudbar,

Haft Tepe Haft Tepe (also Haft Tape) is an archaeological site situated in the Khuzestan Province in south-western Iran, about 15 kilometers southwest of the ancient city of Susa. At this site the possible remains of the Elamite city of Kabnak were discover ...

, near

Susa Susa ( ) was an ancient city in the lower Zagros Mountains about east of the Tigris, between the Karkheh River, Karkheh and Dez River, Dez Rivers in Iran. One of the most important cities of the Ancient Near East, Susa served as the capital o ...

and Ahvaz, where he founded a museum to showcase artifacts from the site, and on the plane of

Hamadan province Hamadan Province () is one of the provinces of Iran, 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Hamadan. In the Zagros Mountains, the province covers an area of 19,546 km2. History Hamadan province is one of the most ancien ...

, where a training center for students was established. Among the critical contributions of Prof. Negahban to Iranian archaeology were his reforms to the curriculum of the Department of Archaeology at the University of Tehran, and the founding of the Institute of Archaeology. While he introduced and encouraged a more scientific approach to the field from the time he was appointed to the Department of Archaeology in 1956, starting in 1967, when he became chairman of the department, he reworked the curriculum around a significant component of fieldwork, mandatory for all students starting in 1970–1971. To facilitate this he established a base-camp of the department's field school on the Qazvin Plain at the site of a restored Safavid

caravanserai A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was an inn that provided lodging for travelers, merchants, and Caravan (travellers), caravans. They were present throughout much of the Islamic world. Depending on the region and period, they were called by a ...

, and secured a long-term permit to conduct field work from the Archaeological Service of Iran. Having introduced a significant practical component to the department, he introduced a Master's program, including further fieldwork at the Haft Tepe excavation in

Khuzestan province Khuzestan province () is one of the 31 Provinces of Iran. Located in the southwest of the country, the province borders Iraq and the Persian Gulf, covering an area of . Its capital is the city of Ahvaz. Since 2014, it has been part of Iran's R ...

during the winter seasons. The Institute for Archeology, which he founded in 1959 and where he served as Director until 1979, played a critical role in these improvements by providing instructors and students with office space, and laboratory and library facilities to analyse the results of fieldwork and publish articles. He built on these successes by securing scholarships for the pursuit of PhDs by students abroad. He was also a good friend of British archaeologist Sir Max Mallowan, former widower of

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...

Projects

*Principal Excavations ** Mehranabad, 1961 ** Marlik, 1961–1962 ** Haft Tepe, 1965–1979 ** Qazvin Plain, 1970–1979 *Other Projects ** Survey of Khorasan along Soviet border, 1965 ** Survey of Kalardasht Plain, 1975–1976

Books

(In English) *1964, ''Preliminary report on Marlik excavation: Gohar Rud expedition; Rudbar. 1961-1962''. Iranian Archcological Service, Tehran. *1977, ''A Guide of Haft Tepe Excavation and Museum'', Ministry of Culture and Art, Tehran. *1983, ''Metal vessels from Marlik''. Beck. Munich. *1991, ''Excavations at Haft Tepe, Iran''. University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia. () *1995, ''Weapons from Marlik''. Reimer. Berlin. *1995, ''Marlik : The Complete Excavation Report''. (University Museum Monograph; 87), University of Pennsylvania Museum Publication. ()

Awards

* 1999 Medal for Cultural Heritage, Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Iran—For a lifetimes service in the field of Archaeology * 1992 Award for Book of the Year, Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Iran—For the Persian edition of "Excavations at Haft Tepe, Iran"

References

External links

Encyclopedia Iranica

{{DEFAULTSORT:Negahban, Ezat 1926 births 2009 deaths Iranian archaeologists People from Ahvaz University of Chicago alumni University of Tehran alumni 20th-century archaeologists Faculty of Letters and Humanities of the University of Tehran alumni