Deciphering the chronology of Tepe Sialk (South) “Ziggurat”, North Central Iranian Plateau, through optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating

Abstract

Tepe Sialk of Kashan in the north central Iranian Plateau, is acknowledged as one of the five most important archaeological sites in Iran. It consists of two prominent mounds, Sialk North and Sialk South with cultural layers spanning from the beginning of the 6th millennium BCE until the Achaemenid period. Sialk South is crowned by a massive, ziggurat-like, mudbrick platform as one of the major phenomena of the Iron Age of Iran. Considering that Sialk South lacks the plentiful of ages formerly generated for Sialk North, the application of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating was considered necessary to revise the later occupation of Sialk. This project generated a chronological framework for the construction of Sialk South and focus on the Massive/large mudbrick platform by dating through OSL. Our results ranged from the Early Chalcolithic period to the Iron Age period of Sialk South. The existence of layers related to Iron Age right underneath the mudbrick platform at Sialk South attracts great interest and seems that Tepe Sialk could be a key-location in deciphering the chronology of the advancement of the Achaemenid Empire in the central Iran.