Introduction and Preliminary Assessment of Cist Tombs in Gahvāre District, Kermanshah Province, Western Iran

Abstract

In summer 2015, during the preliminary survey to identify the tombs of Gahvāre district, about ten cemeteries were recorded including Mar Khāmūsh, Gawraǰūb, Berya Khāni, Safar Shāh, and Chenār. Structurally the tombs of these cemeteries have similar features. In their constructions, large stone slabs had been used in four sides. After putting the dead body, the cap stone was placed on it and then it was covered with a pile of small and large stones. Most of the tombs were plundered which makes them difficult to date. Therefore on the basis of few pottery found from Mar Khāmūsh cemetery as well as comparative studies with other graves of central Zagros, the date of Iron Age II and III is suggested. The aim of this paper is to increase our knowledge about the Iron Age's graves in the central Zagros. Furthermore, some potsherds from Gawraǰūb cemetery have been found which were comparable with Parthian pottery based on forms and technical features. It seems that the pottery is likely to be intrusive or its presence suggests reuse of the graves in the Parthian period. The archaeological excavations are needed to clarify this chronology and to achieve more precise results.