Tepe Gyan is an archaeological site in the highland central
Zagros Mountains
The Zagros Mountains are a mountain range in Iran, northern Iraq, and southeastern Turkey. The mountain range has a total length of . The Zagros range begins in northwestern Iran and roughly follows Iran's western border while covering much of s ...
in
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 ...
. Tepe Giyan contains a necropolis of 123 graves and distinctive pottery which displays some affinities with the ceramics found at another Elamite site of Tepe Sialk. Tepe Giyan was first excavated by French archaeologists George Contenau and Roman Ghirshman, with the support of the Musées Nationaux and the
École du Louvre
The École du Louvre () is a selective institution of higher education and prestigious ''grande école'' located in the Aile de Flore of the Louvre Palace in Paris, France. It is dedicated to the study of archaeology, art history, anthropology ...
, in 1931-32. In 2011, the Tepe Giyan archeological team led by Ali Khaksar discovered a unique Bronze Age burial of a 40-year-old man whose skeleton had bronze rings placed on the maxilla and mandible (upper and lower jaw bones) (Azandaryani, E. H. and A . Khaksar 2013).
Archaeology
Excavations began in 1931. Sealings were discovered.
History of occupation
The phase of Giyan V (6th-4th millennium BCE) shows ceramic styles with some connections with the region of
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 ...
.
The phase of Giyan IV (End of 3rd millennium, beginning of 2nd millennium BCE) delivers ceramic in abundance. The jars are generally decorated with raised bands in horizontal and wavy raised bands. Only the neck of the jar is painted, the rest is blank. The most significant motifs in this phase are pairs of birds with wings spread in the shape of a comb and rows of sawtooth patterns.
The phase of Tepe Giyan III dates to the period 2000/1900 - 1600 BCE, with specific types of ceramics.
The phase of Tepe Giyan I (1400 — 1100 BCE) shows that iron was still rather scarce in this site and in the areas, a
Persia
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 ...
in general at that time, with only a few daggers, spear-heads and arrow-heads, rings and bracelets being found.
Necropolis
The site is mainly known as a necropolis of 121 graves. In 2011, Mr. Khaksar's archeological team discovered a unique burial specimen that had been operated on the cheeks and knees of a bronze ring skeleton of a 40-year-old man. The archaeologist named this grave Grave No. 123. A complete description of the study on an ancient book written by Mr. Ali Akbar Kiani, Ancient Land Gyan. It bears similarities with the site of
Tepe Sialk
Tepe Sialk () is a large ancient archeological site (a ''tepe'', "hill, tell") in a suburb of the city of Kashan, Isfahan Province, in central Iran, close to Fin Garden. The culture that inhabited this area has been linked to the Zayandeh Rive ...
, in the same general area, and its oldest ceramics are also related to the
Ubaid period
The Ubaid period (c. 5500–3700 BC) is a prehistoric period of Mesopotamia. The name derives from Tell al-'Ubaid where the earliest large excavation of Ubaid period material was conducted initially in 1919 by Henry Hall, Leonard Woolley in 19 ...
in
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...
.
References
{{Authority control
Tells (archaeology)
Archaeological sites in Iran
Former populated places in Iran
Buildings and structures on the Iran National Heritage List