تپه سیلک | |
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  Tepe Sialk Shown within Iran | |
| Location | Isfahan province,Iran |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 33°58′08″N51°24′17″E / 33.96889°N 51.40472°E /33.96889; 51.40472 |
| Type | Settlement |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 1933-1934, 1937, 1999-2004, 2008-2009 |
| Archaeologists | Roman Ghirshman, Tania Ghirshman, Sadegh Malek Shahmirzadi, Hassan Fazeli Nashli |
| Condition | In ruins |
Tepe Sialk (Persian:تپه سیلک) is a large ancientarcheological site (atepe, "hill,tell") in a suburb ofKashan,Isfahan province, centralIran, close to theFin Garden. The culture that inhabited this area has been linked to theZayandeh River Culture.[1]
A joint study between Iran's Cultural Heritage Organization, theLouvre, and theInstitut Francais de Recherche en Iran also verifies the oldest settlements in Sialk to date to around 6000–5500 BC.[2][3] The Sialkziggurat was built around 3000 BC.
Sialk, and the entire area around it, is thought to have originated as a result of the pristine large water sources nearby that still run today. The Cheshmeh-ye Soleiman (Solomon's Spring) has been bringing water to this area from nearby mountains for thousands of years. TheFin garden, built in its present form in the 17th century, is a popular tourist attraction. It is here that theshahs of theSafavid Empire would spend their vacations away from their capital cities. It is also here thatAbu Lu'lu'a, the Persian assassin of the second caliphUmar (r. 634–644), is popularly believed to have been buried. All these remains are located in the same location where Sialk is.
Tepe Sialk was excavated for three seasons (1933, 1934, and 1937) by a team headed byRoman Ghirshman and his wifeTania Ghirshman.[4][5][6]Studies related to the site were conducted by D.E. McCown, Y. Majidzadeh, and P. Amieh.[7][8] Excavation was resumed for several seasons between 1999 and 2004 by a team from theUniversity of Pennsylvania andIran's Cultural Heritage Organization led bySadegh Malek Shahmirzadi called the Sialk Reconsideration Project.[9][10][11][12]
In 2008 and 2009, an Iranian team led by Hassan Fazeli Nashli and supported by Robin Coningham of theUniversity of Durham have worked at the northern mound finding 6 Late Neolithic burials.[13]
Artifacts from the original dig ended up mostly at theLouvre, while some can be found at theBritish Museum, theMetropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and theNational Museum of Iran and in the hands of private collectors. These artifacts consisted of some very fine painted potteries.[14]
The northern mound (Tepe) is the oldest; the occupation dates back to the end of the seventh millennium BC. The mound is composed of two levels: Sialk I (the oldest), and Sialk II. Sialk I-level architecture is relatively rudimentary. Tombs containing pottery have been uncovered. The ceramic is initially rather rough, then becomes of better quality with the time.[15]
Zagheh archaic painted ware (c. 6000–5500 BC) is found in Tepe Sialk I, sub-levels 1–2. This is the early painted ware that was first excavated atTepe Zagheh in the Qazvin plain.[16] In sub-periods 3, 4 and 5, the pottery has a clear surface with painted decoration. Stone or bone tools were still used.
The Sialk II level sees the first appearance of metallurgy. The archaeological material found in the buildings of this period testifies to increasing links with the outside world.
The southern mound (Tepe) includes the Sialk III and IV levels. The first, divided into seven sub-periods, corresponds to the fifth millennium and the beginning of the fourth (c. 4000 BC). This period is in continuity with the previous one, and sees the complexity of architecture (molded bricks, use of stone) and crafts, especially metallurgical. Early excavations had recovered fiveProto-Elamite tablets. Like other outlying sites with Proto-Elamite writing, it was abandoned for time afterward.[17] More recent work has found evidence on the south mound of actual occupation from the Proto-Elamite period.[12]
Evidence demonstrates that Tepe Sialk was an important metal production center in central Iran during the Sialk III and Sialk IV periods. A significant amount of metallurgical remains were found during the excavations in the 1990s and later. This includes large amounts ofslag pieces,litharge cakes, andcrucibles andmoulds.[18]
Other ancient sites in Iran from the same time have also revealed silver production, such asArisman, andTappeh Hissar. These sites are attributed to Sialk III-IV and Hissar II-III periods.
Sialk IV level begins in the second half of the fourth millennium. For the oldest sub-periods of the Sialk IV, there are links with theMesopotamian civilizations ofUruk andJemdet Nasr.
Later on, the material is similar to that ofSusa III (Proto-Elamite level), so this is where the Proto-Elamite horizon at Sialk is located, as is also evidenced by the discovery here of some Proto-Elamite clay tablets.
The ruins of what would be the oldest Ziggurat in the world are found at this same Sialk IV level.
This period ends with the temporary abandonment of the site at the beginning of the third millennium.
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After an abandonment of more than a millennium, the Sialk site was reoccupied in the second half of the second millennium. This last phase of occupation is divided into two periods: Sialk V and Sialk VI. The archaeological material of these two levels has been mostly found in the two necropolises, called necropolis A and necropolis B.
The first represents the Sialk V level. Here are found weapons and other objects in bronze, as well as jewelry, and some iron items. The ceramic is gray-black, or red, sometimes with decorations that consist of geometric patterns, and can be compared to items coming from sites inGorgan valley (the later levels ofTureng Tepe, andTepe Hissar).
| Periods |
|  | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Types | ||||||
| Elements | ||||||
| Traditional cities | ||||||
| Theory and analysis | ||||||
| Lists | ||||||
| East Azerbaijan |
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|---|---|---|
| West Azerbaijan | ||
| Isfahan |
| |
| Ardabil | ||
| Alborz | ||
| Bushehr | ||
| Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad | ||
| Golestan | ||
| Gilan | ||
| Tehran | ||
| Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari | ||
| North Khorasan |
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| Razavi Khorasan |
| |
| South Khorasan |
| |
| Khuzestan | ||
| Kurdistan | ||
| Semnan | ||
| Sistan and Baluchestan |
| |
| Fars |
| |
| Qazvin | ||
| Qom | ||
| Kerman |
| |
| Kermanshah | ||
| Mazandaran | ||
| Markazi | ||
| Lorestan | ||
| Ilam |
| |
| Hormozgan |
| |
| Hamadan | ||
| Yazd |
| |
| Zanjan | ||
Also See:Castles in Iran | ||
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