Jiroft culture
Created	5000 BP to 4200 BP
Jiroft Show map of Iran Jiroft Show map of West and Central Asia

TheJiroft culture,^[1] also known as theIntercultural style or theHalilrud style,^[2] is anearly Bronze Age (3rd millennium BC)archaeological culture, located in the territory of present-daySistan and Baluchestan andKermān provinces ofIran.

The proposed type site isKonar Sandal, nearJiroft in theHalil River area. Other significant sites associated with the culture includeShahr-e Sukhteh (Burnt City),Tepe Bampur,Espiedej,Shahdad,Tal-i-Iblis andTepe Yahya.

The grouping of these sites as an "independent Bronze Age civilization with its own architecture and language", intermediate betweenElam to the west and theIndus Valley civilization to the east, was first proposed byYusef Majidzadeh, head of the archaeological excavation team inJiroft (south central Iran). The hypothesis is based on a collection of artifacts that have been formally excavated and recovered from looters by Iranian authorities; accepted by many to have derived from the Jiroft area (as reported by online Iranian news services, beginning in 2001).^[1]

Early excavations atKerman were conducted by SirAurel Stein around 1930. One of the most notable archaeological excavations done inKerman Province was one done by a group led by ProfessorJoseph Caldwell fromIllinois State Museum in 1966 (Tal-i-Iblis) and Lamberg-Karlovsky fromHarvard University in 1967 (Tepe Yahya, Sogan Valley,Dolatabad). Many artifacts associated with Jiroft were recovered from looters described as "destitute villagers" who had scavenged the area south ofJiroft before 2001, when a team led byYusef Majidzadeh began excavations.^[3]

The primary Jiroft site consists of two mounds a few kilometers apart, called Konar Sandal A and B with a height of 13 and 21 meters, respectively (approximate location28°30′N57°48′E / 28.5°N 57.8°E /28.5; 57.8). At Konar Sandal B, a two-story, windowed citadel with a base of close to 13.5 hectares was found. The team uncovered more than two square kilometers of remains from a city dating back to at least the late 3rd millennium BC. The data Madjidzadeh's team has gathered demonstrates that Jiroft's heyday was from 2500 BC to 2200 BC.^[4]

The looted artifacts and some vessels recovered by the excavators were of the so-called "intercultural style" type of pottery known fromMesopotamia and the Iranian Plateau, and since the 1960s from nearbyTepe Yahya in Baft. The "Jiroft civilization" hypothesis proposes that this "intercultural style" is in fact the distinctive style of a previously unknown, long-lived civilization.^{[citation needed]}

This is not universally accepted; archaeologistOscar Muscarella of theMetropolitan Museum of Art criticizes that the excavators resorted to sensationalist announcements while being more slow in publishing scholarly reports, and their claims that the site'sstratigraphy shows continuity into the 4th millennium as overly optimistic. Muscarella does nevertheless acknowledge the importance of the site.

According to Majidzadeh, geophysical operations by French experts in the region indicate the existence at least 10 historical and archaeological periods in the region belonging to different civilizations who lived in this area during different periods of time in history. According to theFrench experts who studied this area, the evidence remained from these civilizations may be traced up to 11 meters under the ground.

"What is obvious is that the evidence of Tal-i-Iblis culture in Bardsir can be traced in all parts of the region. Tal-i-Iblis culture, known as Ali Abad period (fourth millennium BC) was revealed byJoseph R. Caldwell, American archaeologist,"^{[citation needed]} said Majidzadeh.

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  Jiroft vase, 2800-2300 BC
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  Jiroft vase, 2800-2300 BC
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  Vase from the Jiroft region. A "two horned" figure wrestling with serpents.
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  Jiroft statuette, 2800-2300 BC
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  Snakes Rock weight
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  Brazen snakes

TheHelmand culture of western Afghanistan was a Bronze Age culture of the 3rd millennium BC. Some scholars link it withShahr-i Sokhta,Mundigak, andBampur.

The term "Helmand civilization" was proposed by M. Tosi. This civilization flourished between 2500 and 1900 BC, and may have coincided with the great flourishing of the Indus Valley Civilization. This was also the final phase of Periods III and IV of Shahr-i Sokhta, and the last part of Mundigak Period IV.^[5]

Thus, the Jiroft culture is closely related to the Helmand culture. The Jiroft culture flourished in eastern Iran, and the Helmand culture in western Afghanistan at the same time. In fact, they may represent the same cultural area. TheMehrgarh culture, on the other hand, is far earlier.^{[citation needed]}

An inscription, discovered in a palace, was carved on a brick whose lower left corner only has remained, explainedYusef Majidzadeh, head of the Jiroft excavation team. "The two remaining lines are enough to recognize theElamite script," he added. "The only ancient inscriptions known to experts before the Jiroft discovery were cuneiform and hieroglyph," said Majidzadeh, adding that "The new-found inscription is formed by geometric shapes and no linguist around the world has been able to decipher it yet."^[6]

Some archeologists believe the discovered inscription is the most ancient script found so far, predating these others, and that the Elamite Cuneiform and Sumero-Akkadian Cuneiform written language originated in Jiroft, where the writing system developed first in its original form and was then spread across the old world.^[7]

Majidzadeh has attempted to identify the Jiroft sites with the land ofAratta mentioned inSumerian sources. His conclusions have been met with skepticism from a number of scholars. Other conjectures (e.g. Daniel T. Potts, Piotr Steinkeller) have connected Konar Sandal with the obscure city-state ofMarhashi, that apparently lay to the east of Elam proper.^[2]

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History ofIran
Prehistoric period BCE / BC Baradostian culture c. 36,000–18,000 Zarzian culture c. 20,000–10,000 Shulaveri–Shomu culture c. 6000–5000 Zayandeh River Culture c. 6th millennium Dalma culture c. 5th millennium
Ancient period Kura–Araxes culture 3400–2000 Helmand culture/Jiroft culture c. 3300–2200 Proto-Elamite 3200–2700 Lullubi Kingdom/Zamua c. 3100–675 Elam 2700–539 Marhaši c. 2550–2020 Oxus Civilization c. 2400–1700 Akkadian Empire 2400–2150 Kassites c. 1500–1155 Avestan period c. 1500–500 Neo-Assyrian Empire 911–609 Urartu 860–590 Mannaea 850–616 Zikirti 750–521 Saparda 720–670
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• Prehistoric Iran
• List of Iranian artifacts abroad
• Kulli culture
• International Rankings of Iran in History
• Konar Sandal on map

• Jiroft, Fabuleuse Decouverte en Iran, Dossiers Archeologica 287, October 2003.
• Yousef Mazidzadeh,Jiroft earliest oriental civilization (2004).
• O. White Muscarella,Jiroft and "Jiroft-Aratta": A Review Article of Yousef Madjidzadeh, Jiroft: The Earliest Oriental Civilization, Bulletin of the Asia Institute 15 (2005) 173–198.
• Andrew Lawler,Ancient Writing or Modern Fakery?, Science 3 August 2007: Vol. 317. no. 5838, pp. 588–589.
• Andrew Lawler,Iranian Dig Opens Window on New Civilization, Science 21 May 2004: Vol. 304. no. 5674, pp. 1096–1097.
• M.R. MaheriThe Early Civilizations of Kerman (تمدّن های نخستین کرمان), Markaze Kerman Shenasaee (2000), 1st edition,ISBN 964-6487-21-1
• lost civilization documentary by Roger Matthews (archaeologist) onYouTube
• Jiroft, Fabuleuse Decouverte en Iran, Dossiers Archeologica 287, October 2003.
• Yousef Mazidzadeh,Jiroft earliest oriental civilization (2004).
• O. White Muscarella,Jiroft and "Jiroft-Aratta": A Review Article of Yousef Madjidzadeh, Jiroft: The Earliest Oriental Civilization, Bulletin of the Asia Institute 15 (2005) 173–198.
• Andrew Lawler,Ancient Writing or Modern Fakery?, Science 3 August 2007: Vol. 317. no. 5838, pp. 588–589.
• Andrew Lawler,Iranian Dig Opens Window on New Civilization, Science 21 May 2004: Vol. 304. no. 5674, pp. 1096–1097.
• Jiroft and "Jiroft-Aratta" A Review Article of Yousef Madjidzadeh

Media related toJiroft culture at Wikimedia Commons

• Jiroft in Encyclopedia Iranica
• saudiaramcoworld.com: What Was Jiroft?Archived 13 November 2014 at theWayback Machine
• The Writing Tablet from Konar Sandal B (Jiroft)
• Jiroft and "Jiroft-Aratta" A Review Article of Yousef Madjidzadeh

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• Archaeological cultures of the Near East
• Archaeology of Iran
• History of Kerman province
• History of Sistan and Baluchestan province
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• Jiroft culture

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