Recent Archaeological Research in South Iran: Excavation at the Old City of Sirjan (The Site of Qal’eh Sang)

ABSTRACT

The importance of old Sirjan lies in its geographical location in the Persian Gulf hinterland. It stood at the intersection of routes that connected the Persian Gulf and the Central Iranian plateau. The first season of excavations at Qal’eh Sang in 2015 brought to light a complete and great bathhouse dating to the time between eleventh to fifteenth century AD and a stonecutting workshop dating to the fourteenth century. Various types of pottery were identified, most of them date to the time between the eleventh to fifteenth century and find parallels at many sites in China, Afghanistan, at the coasts of the Persian Gulf, Central Iranian plateau as well as northeast and west Iran. Furthermore, Sirjan city was relocated three times during the Islamic era at Qal’eh Kafar, Qal’eh Sang, Bagh-e Bamid, and Saeedabad.

KEYWORDS:

• Qal’eh Sang
• old city of Sirjan
• Islamic archaeology
• Islamic cities
• southern Iran

Acknowledgement

The authors wish to acknowledge the financial support received from the managing director of Golgohar Mining and Industrial Co. in Sirjan, the managing director of Gohar Omran Holding in Sirjan, and previous governor of Sirjan County. The authors also thank Dr. David Meyer for editing the text grammatically. Special thanks go to the excavation team members: Ali Nemati, Salman Anjum Ruz, Samira Sheykh Akbarizadeh, Zahra Tayyari, Zeynab Afzali, Naghmeh Ghadiri, Mahin Gharaee, and Mahbubeh Naseri Tehrani. We wish to express our gratitude to all of them.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 Ebn-e Khordadbeh, Al-Masalek va al-Mamalek, 38–40; Al-Maqdisi, Ahsan al-Taqasim fi Marefat al-Aqalim, 681; Ebn-e Hawqal, Configuration de la Terre, 73.

2 Morgan and Leatherby, “Excavated Ceramics from Sirjan”, 23.

3 Amirhajloo, “Explanation of the Role of Ecological Variables”, 185.

4 Ibid.

5 The project was carried out under permit No. 943141.00.3173 from the research institute of cultural heritage and tourism of Iran (RICHT).

6 Morgan and Leatherby, “Excavated Ceramics from Sirjan”, 23.

7 Hatami, “Analytical Investigation of the Old Sirjan”, 30.

8 Ibid, 14.

9 Ebn-e Khordadbeh, Al-Masalek va al-Mamalek, 38–40; Istakhri, Al-Masalek va al-Mamalek, 161–6; al-Maqdisi, Ahsan al-Taqasim fi Marefat al-Aqalim, 681; al-Jihani, Ashkal al-Alam, 131.

10 Le Strange, The Lands of the Eastern Caliphate, 300.

11 Kermani, Badaye al-Azman fi Vaqaye Kerman, 426; Monshi Kermani, Samat-al-Ola Lelhazrat-al-Olia, 84–5; Mustawfi, Nozhat al-Qolub, 201; Sotoudeh, Sovar al-Aqalim, 55; Hamawi, Mo’jam al-Buldan, 295; Yazdi, Zafarnameh, 559.

12 Sykes, “Historical Notes on South-East Persia”, 946–47.

13 Williamson, “Sirjan”, 177; Williamson, “Sirjan-i-Kuhna and Tepe Dasht-i-Deh”, 26–8.

14 Morgan and Leatherby, “Excavated Ceramics from Sirjan”, 33–6.

15 Varjavand, “Qaleh Sang and its Stone Fire-Altar”.

16 Sykes, “Historical Notes on South-East Persia”, 946–7.

17 Varjavand, “Qaleh Sang and its Stone Fire-Altar”.

18 Trench 1; the hewing workshop, trenches 2 and 3; the Bathhouse.

19 Williamson, “Regional Distribution of Medieval Persian Pottery”, 22; Choubak, “Islamic Pottery of Ancient City of Jiroft”, 89.

20 Williamson, “Regional Distribution of Medieval Persian Pottery”, 22.

21 Barnes et al., Chinese Ceramics, 336.

22 Kennet, “Sasanian and Islamic Pottery from Ras al-Khaimah”, 64 & 143.

23 Kiani, The Islamic city of Gurgan, 48.

24 Choubak, “Islamic Pottery of Ancient City of Jiroft”, 94.

25 Morgan, “Some Far Eastern Elements in Colored – Ground Sultanabad Wares”, 19 & Fehervari, Ceramics of the Islamic World in the Tareq Rajab Museum, 223.

26 For example Priestman, “A Quantitative Archaeological Analysis of Ceramic Exchange in the Persian Gulf and Western Indian Ocean”, 711, plate 171.

27 Mason, Shine Like the Sun, 123. Choubak, “Islamic Pottery of Ancient City of Jiroft”, 94. Kiani, The Islamic City of Gurgan, 49 & Bahrami, Gurgan Faiences, 81.

28 Williamson, “Sirjan”, 177; Williamson, “Sirjan-i-Kuhna and Tepe Dasht-i-Deh”, 27.

29 Morgan and Leatherby, “Excavated Ceramics from Sirjan”, 52.

30 Choubak, “Cultural Period in Jaz-Morian, Islamic Period in Ancient Jiroft”, 235.

31 Peterson, Dictionary of Islamic Architecture, 108.

32 Shahmohammad Pour, “The Bathhouses of Bishapur”, 147.

33 Mollazadeh and Mohammadi, Public Works; Encyclopedia of Iranian Historical Monuments, 24.

34 Ibid.

35 Choubak, “Cultural Period in Jaz-Morian, Islamic Period in Ancient Jiroft”, 235.

36 Mollazadeh and Mohammadi, Public Works; Encyclopedia of Iranian Historical Monuments, 24.

37 Shahmohammad Pour, “The Bathhouses of Bishapur”, 147.

38 Ibid., 155.

39 Sharahi, “Second Season of Archaeological Excavations of Zolf Abad Site in Farahan, Tafrash”.

40 Tabassi, “The Study and Analysis of Effective Factors on the Formal and Functional Changes of the Iranian Baths”, 37.

41 Golombek and Wilber, The Timurid Architecture of Iran and Turan, 385.

42 Ibid.

43 Tabassi, “The Study and Analysis of Effective Factors on the Formal and Functional Changes of the Iranian Baths”, 39.

44 Amirhajloo et al., “Architectural Features of the Timurid Bathhouses”, 126.

45 See Kermani, Badaye al-Azman fi Vaqaye Kerman, 426; Monshi Kermani, Samat-al-Ola Lelhazrat-al-Olia, 84–85; Mustawfi, Nozhat al-Qolub, 201; Sotoudeh, Sovar al-Aqalim, 55; Hamawi, Mo’jam al-Buldan, 295.

46 Morgan and Leatherby, “Excavated Ceramics from Sirjan”, 24.

47 Williamson, “Sirjan”, 177.

48 Morgan and Leatherby, “Excavated Ceramics from Sirjan”, 52.

49 Ibid.

50 Ebn-e Hawqal, Configuration de la Terre, 307.

51 Morgan and Leatherby, “Excavated Ceramics from Sirjan”, 29.

52 Kermani, Badaye al-Azman fi Vaqaye Kerman, 426.

53 Le Strange, The Lands of the Eastern Caliphate, 301.

54 Morgan and Leatherby, “Excavated Ceramics from Sirjan”, 29.

55 See Monshi Kermani, Samat-al-Ola Lelhazrat-al-Olia, 84–5; Sotoudeh, Sovar al-Aqalim, 55; Mustawfi, Nozhat al-Qolub, 201.

56 Yazdi, Zafarnameh, 559; Le Strange, The Lands of the Eastern Caliphate, 302; Bastani Parizi, Shah Mansur, 261.

57 Vaziri, Geography of Kerman and Its Villages, 253; Yazdi, Zafarnameh, 559.

58 Le Strange, The Lands of the Eastern Caliphate, 302.

59 Vaziri, Geography of Kerman and Its Villages, 258.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Golgohar Mining and Industrial Co and Gohar Omran Holding in Sirjan [grant number: 2650].