Dalma Tepe (

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

: دالما تپه) is an archaeological site about 2km northeast of

Naqadeh Naqadeh () is a city in the Central District of Naqadeh County, West Azerbaijan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Etymology Naqadeh is the current name of the town (and county). The former name, known ...

(formerly Solduz), Naqadeh County, in the Iranian province of

West Azerbaijan West Azerbaijan province () is one of the 31 provinces of Iran, provinces of Iran, whose capital and largest city is Urmia. It is in the Azerbaijan (Iran), northwest of the country, bordered by Turkey (Ağrı Province, Ağrı, Hakkâri Pr ...

. It is the

type site In archaeology, a type site (American English) or type-site (British English) is the site used to define a particular archaeological culture or other typological unit, which is often named after it. For example, discoveries at La Tène and H ...

Dalma culture Dalma culture was a prehistoric archaeological culture of north-western Iran dating to early fifth millennium B.C. Later, it spread into the central Zagros region and elsewhere in adjacent areas. Its widespread ceramic remains were excavated in c ...

, a prehistoric culture of north-western Iran from the fifth millennium B.C.

Location

Dalma Tepe is located at the southwestern end of

Lake Urmia Lake Urmia is an endorheic salt lake in Iran. The lake is located between the provinces of East Azerbaijan and West Azerbaijan in Iran, and west of the southern portion of the Caspian Sea. At its greatest extent, it was the largest lake in th ...

, north of the modern village of Dalma. There are two other small tells close by, including Agrab Tepe. Ḥasanlū Tepe site is about 5 km southwest of Dalma. Dalma Tepe was inscribed on the national heritage list of Iran in 2006. In 2021, Archaeological survey again began at Dalma Tepe after a six-decade hiatus. The mound rises approximately 4 meters above the surrounding plain. Its diameter measures approximately 50 meters. The site was researched in 1958 by Charles Burney and additionally in 1961 in collaboration with T. Cuyler Young Jr. as part of the Hasanlu Project of The University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology of the University of Pennsylvania. Large quantities of handmade, chaff-tempered pottery were found. This includes 'Dalma plain ware', 'Dalma impressed ware', and 'Dalma red-slipped ware', which was covered with a uniform coat of dark-red paint. There was a variety of shapes. 'Dalma painted ware' is decorated with large patterns of triangles in deep shades on red. Conical clay spindle whorls were also found. Dalma pottery represents Period IX at Ḥasanlū Tepe, and is dated to around 5000–4500 BCE. Links with Level XVI at

Tepe Gawra Tepe Gawra (also Tepe Gaura) is an ancient Mesopotamian settlement NNE of Mosul in northwest Iraq that was occupied between 5000 and 1500 BC. It is roughly a mile from the site of Nineveh and 2 miles E of the site of Khorsabad. It contains remain ...

have been identified, which, in northern Iraq, represents Ubaid 3 period.Hamlin, Carol. “Dalma Tepe.” Iran, vol. 13, 1975, pp. 111–27. Similar pottery has been found at Seh Gābī and

Godin Tepe Godin Tepe () is an archaeological site in the Luristan region of western Iran, located in the valley of Kangavar in Kermanshah province. It lies on the left bank of the Gamas Āb river. The importance of the site may have been due to its role a ...

, attributed to Period X.

Kul Tepe Jolfa Kul Tepe Jolfa (Gargar Tepesi) (Kul Tapeh) is an ancient archaeological site in the Jolfa County of Iran, located in the city of Hadishahr, about 10 km south from the Araxes River. It dates to Chalcolithic period (5000–4500 BC), and was disc ...

is another related site from the same period. It is located north of Lake Urmia. In 2013, nine ancient sites containing Dalma sherds have been identified in the Songhor and Koliyaei Plains in Central Zagros.

Ceramics

Dalma pottery, which corresponds to the Hasanlu IX layer, could be found in various places around Lake Urmia. Very similar contemporary ceramics were excavated at Tepe Seavan (Sīāvān) in the Margavar Valley.

and nearby Seh Gabi also had similar ceramics. Using 14 C dating and other comparisons, the origin can be dated to around the 5th millennium BC date. Ceramic items from

(northern Iraq) were also found at Dalmā Tepe. According to Bahranipoor (2021), four geographical sub-regions of this tradition can be suggested, * "... south of Lake Urmia (the sites Dalma, Baghi and Lavin), * Kangavar (Godin, Seh Gabi B and Nadali Beig), * Bijar (Gheshlagh) and * Kurdestan ( Namshir)."Hanan Bahranipoor 2021
Absolute Dating and Intra-Regional Diversity of Dalma Ceramic Tradition Based on Analysis of the Painted Monochrome Ware.
- archive.org

Notes

Bibliography

DALMĀ TEPE
- iranicaonline.org {{Portal bar, Iran Tells (archaeology) Archaeological sites in Iran Former populated places in Iran Buildings and structures in West Azerbaijan province