Haftavan IV (Iron II) Settlement Cemetery, NW Iran, Azerbaijan

Abstract

Some 25 graves excavated at Haftavan Tepe in Iranian Azerbaijan came from Iron Age II, Haftavan IV. This article examines the contents of the graves; all are simple pit graves with relatively simple ceramics and a poor collection of jewelry and other personal ornaments. The burials have been dug in the cemetery at the edges of the settlement areas. This can be seen in marked contrast to the old burial practices of period VI (LBA), where burials were made at various points under the settlement floor and, most importantly, infants were buried in jars. On the basis of relative dating, typological parallels and stratigraphic sources, the use of the graves can be assigned to the 12 th to 8 th centuries BC. Finally, from an overall viewpoint, the tentative nature of the conclusions presented in the article must be stressed.