Iranian-Italian Joint Research Articles

Advances in characterization of colourful residues unearthed in Persepolis West craft zone using microscopic and spectroscopic techniques

The microstructure and chemical composition of blue and green pellets, coloured lump pigments and a metal scrap excavated in Persepolis West (Fars, Iran), by the Iranian-Italian Joint Archaeological Mission in Fars in 2008–09, were investigated to clarify their origin and production techniques.The Persepolis West urban area has its eastern limit about five hundred meters away from the Persepolis Terrace and extends for about 1 km in a westward direction. Due to the presence in this area of various kilns and other remains, the existence of a craft zone connected with the construction of imperial and élite buildings in Persepolis was proposed.The colourful residues were submitted to integrated investigations using portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, digital and polarized light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, ATR-FTIR and Raman spectroscopy.The integrated analyses allowed to identify azurite, malachite, Egyptian blue, glauconite, yellow and red ochre with hematite, magnetite and goethite. Proteinaceous material was detected only in one red lump. These pigments are in accordance with the palette used to paint the palaces of the Persepolis Terrace, thus supporting the hypothesis that in Persepolis West craft zone, there was a laboratory for production of pigments.The microscopic features of the lumps and their peculiar shape confirmed a local manufacturing process. Moreover, the diopside presence related to the Egyptian blue production, as well as the discovery of a bronze scrap with a crust of Egyptian blue also suggested that this pigment was manufactured locally.

Vito Messina, Jafar Mehr Kian. “The sanctuary and cemetery of Shami: research of the Iranian-Italian joint expedition in Khuzistan at Kal-e Chendarin”

The authors are the co-directors of the Iranian-Italian archaeological Expedition in Khuzistan, south-west Iran, the seat of the kingdom of Elymais, a Parthian vassal state ruled by a local dynasty. In this paper written for the ECIS conference in 2014, they present the very first observation about the site of Kal-e Chendar, in the valley of Shami, where the famous Shami Prince bronze statue was discovered. The report describes the terraces and the mud-brick structures individuated by A. Stei...

Alireza Askari Chaverdi, Pierfrancesco Callieri. Persepolis West (Fars, Iran). Report on the field work carried out by the Iranian-Italian joint Archaeological Mission in 2008-2009

Ce volume est le deuxieme de la serie consacree aux resultats de la premiere phase du programme conjoint irano-italien From the palace to town, sur la conservation des vestiges et la recherche a Persepolis, sur la terrasse et aux alentours de celle-ci. Ce volume rend compte des sondages stratigraphiques menes sur Persepolis W, zone ainsi nommee depuis les prospections de W. Sumner dans les annees 1970. C’est l’espace entre 500 m et 1500 m a l’ouest de la terrasse. En surface, parsemee de peti...

Jafar Mehr Kian, Vito Messina. “Mountainous Sanctuaries of Ancient Elymais. Preliminary Results of the Research conducted by the Iranian-Italian Joint Expedition in Khuzestan”

The authors are since many years the co-directors of the Iranian-Italian archaeological Expedition in Khuzistan, south-west Iran. The region was the seat of the kingdom of Elymais, a Parthian vassal state ruled by la local dynasty. To pay homage to Prof. Boucharlat’s activity in the same region, the authors present the main cultic sites connected to the kingdom’s ruling dynasty and brought to light by past expeditions: Majid-e Sulayman and Bard-e Nechandeh, two large religious complexes build...

Vito Messina. “The fourth terrace of Elymais: preliminary survey at Qal ‘e-ye Bardi of the Iranian-Italian joint expedition in Khuzestan”

La terrasse de Qal’e-ye Bardi dans les Mts Bakhtiyaris est beaucoup moins connue que ses voisines de Masjed-e Solaimān et Bard-e Nesanda, ainsi que celle de Qal’e-ye Chandar (Shami). Plus difficile d’acces naguere, elle a ete a peine reperee par R. Ghishman dans les annees 1960. Autour de la terrasse qui couvre 1,6 ha environ, la zone occupee s’etend sur 38 ha. Sur la terrasse dont le mur sud s’eleve encore a 14m de hauteur, les structures sont tres ruinees et leur plan est difficilement repe...

Book Review of Persepolis West (Fars, Iran): Report on the Field Work Carried Out by the Iranian-Italian Joint Archaeological Mission in 2008–2009, by Alireza Askari Chaverdi and Pierfrancesco Callieri

Book Review of Persepolis West (Fars, Iran): Report on the Field Work Carried Out by the Iranian-Italian Joint Archaeological Mission in 2008–2009, by Alireza Askari Chaverdi and Pierfrancesco Callieri

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Next article FreeOPEN ACCESS ON AJA ONLINE (www.ajaonline.org)Online-Only ContentPDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmailQR Code SectionsMoreOnline-only content accompanying American Journal of Archaeology Volume 123, Number 3 (July 2019)SUPPLEMENTARY CONTENTImage Gallery: State Formation in Greece: Iklaina and the Unification of Mycenaean Pylos, by Michael B. CosmopoulosImage Gallery: New Approaches to Late Bronze Age Urban Landscapes on Cyprus: Investigations at Kalavasos-Ayios Dhimitrios, 2012–2016, by Kevin D. Fisher, Sturt W. Manning, and Thomas M. UrbanImage Gallery: A German “Leistungsschau”: An Exhibition in Search of a European Image of History, by Stephan LehmannImage Gallery: Technologies and Narratives of Urban Archaeology at the Kelsey Museum, by Seth BernardREVIEW ARTICLEMycenaean Cemeteries in the Peloponnese, by Brendan BurkeBOOK REVIEWSThe Evolution of Human Co-operation: Ritual and Social Complexity in Stateless Societies, by Charles Stanish. Reviewed by David S. BrosePersepolis West (Fars, Iran): Report on the Field Work Carried Out by the Iranian-Italian Joint Archaeological Mission in 2008–2009, by Alireza Askari Chaverdi and Pierfrancesco Callieri. Reviewed by Ali MousaviIn Search of the Phoenicians, by Josephine C. Quinn. Reviewed by Fabio PorziaSea Peoples of the Northern Levant? Aegean-Style Pottery from Early Iron Age Tell Tayinat, by Brian Janeway. Reviewed by Jeffrey P. EmanuelThe Early Iron Age: The Cemeteries, by John K. Papadopoulos and Evelyn Lord Smithson. Reviewed by Antonis KotsonasLerna: A Preclassical Site in the Argolid. Vol. 8, The Historical Greek Village, by Brice L. Erickson. Reviewed by Susan I. RotroffThe Sanctuary of Athena at Sounion, by Barbara Barletta, with William B. Dinsmoor, Jr., and Homer A. Thompson. Reviewed by Jessica PagaA Companion to Sparta, edited by Anton Powell. Reviewed by Elizabeth Langridge-NotiTartessos and the Phoenicians in Iberia, by Sebastián Celestino and Carolina López-Ruiz. Reviewed by Manuel Fernández-GötzMégara Hyblaea 7: La ville classique, hellénistique et romaine, by Henri Tréziny. Reviewed by Niccolò MugnaiEntrepôts et circuits de distribution en Méditerranée antique, edited by Véronique Chankowski, Xavier Lafon, and Catherine Virlouvet. Reviewed by Astrid Van OyenDie Sakralarchitektur der kommagenischen Hierothesia und Temene, by Werner Oenbrink. Reviewed by Winfried HeldNuovi studi sulla Regia di Roma, edited by Paolo Brocato and Nicola Terrenato. Reviewed by Aura PiccioniFluvial Landscapes in the Roman World, edited by Tyler V. Franconi. Reviewed by Andrea L. BrockSenses of the Empire: Multisensory Approaches to Roman Culture, edited by Eleanor Betts. Reviewed by Kimberly CassibryLes boutiques d'Ostie: L'économie urbaine au quotidien. Ier s. av. J.-C.–Ve s. ap. J.-C., by Julien Schoevaert. Reviewed by Jared T. BentonDokimenische Säulensarkophage: Datierung und Deutung, by Volker Michael Strocka. Reviewed by Alice ChristLondinium: A Biography. Roman London from Its Origins to the Fifth Century, by Richard Hingley. Reviewed by John CreightonList of Books Received Next article DetailsFiguresReferencesCited by American Journal of Archaeology Volume 123, Number 3July 2019 The journal of the Archaeological Institute of America Views: 59Total views on this site Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.3764/aja.123.3.online Copyright © 2019 by the Archaeological Institute of America. All rights reserved.PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Ilaria Bucci, Alessandra Cellerino, Mehdi Faraji, Enrico Foietta, Francesca Giusto, Jafar Mehr Kian, Vito Messina, Mana Rouhani Rankhoui. “Preliminary report on the third season of excavation of the Iranian-Italian Joint Expedition in Khuzestan at Kal-e Chendar, Shami (8th campaign, 2015)”

Ilaria Bucci, Alessandra Cellerino, Mehdi Faraji, Enrico Foietta, Francesca Giusto, Jafar Mehr Kian, Vito Messina, Mana Rouhani Rankhoui. “Preliminary report on the third season of excavation of the Iranian-Italian Joint Expedition in Khuzestan at Kal-e Chendar, Shami (8th campaign, 2015)”

Vito Messina, Jafar Mehr Kian, “Return to Shami: Preliminary survey of the Iranian-Italian Joint Expedition in Khuzistan at Kal-e Chendar”

Depuis 2008, une mission irano-italienne se consacre a l’etude cette region du Khuzestan, dite Elymaide au cours de la periode seleuco-parthe. Apres l’etude minutieuse du bas-relief de Hung-e Azhdar (cf. dans ce numero cr Vito Messina (ed.). Hung-e Azhdar. Research of the Iranian-Italian), la nouvelle phase du programme scientifique est Shami a 20km au nord de ce relief, pres de la ville modern d’Izeh (anc. Malamir). Il y a plus de 60 ans, Sir Aurel Stein avait revele la fameuse statue parthe...

Vito Messina, Jafar Mehr Kian, “The Religious Complex at Shami. Preliminary Report on the Research of the Iranian-Italian Joint Expedition in Khuzestan at Kal-e Chendar”

La mission conjointe avait deja realise la prospection du site et des environs en 2011 et 2012 (cf. dans ce numero le cr Messina, Mehr Kian« Return to Shami… ») avant de commencer une serie de sondages sur l’une des trois terrasses retenues par des murs de soutenement. Les constructions sont les unes en moellons non travailles, d’autres autres en briques cuites carrees (36 x 36 x 8 cm). Une grande tombe (4,5 x 2,4 m et sans doute haute de 2 m) construite en moellons possedait une couverture c...

Vito Messina (ed.). Hung-e Azhdar. Research of the Iranian-Italian Joint expedition on Khuzestan (2008-2011)

Ce numero entier de la revue Parthica est consacre aux resultats de la mission conjointe Iran-Italie a Hung-e Azhdar, le site d’un bas-relief parthe rupestre a 17 km au nord de la ville d’Izeh. Soulignons que ce programme de quatre ans a ete mene en 2008-2011 par V. Messina et J. Mehr Kian et publie des 2016. L’objet de la recherche etait un relief sculpte sur un enorme rocher isole et son environnement immediat qui a ete l’objet de recherches de terrain, dont des sondages archeologiques au p...

Ahmad Azadi, Enrico Ascalone, Luca Peyronel. The First Season (2009) of Archaeological Research by the Iranian-Italian Joint Expedition at Qaleh Kutchek, Halil Valley (Jiroft, Kerman Province, SE Iran)

Ahmad Azadi, Enrico Ascalone, Luca Peyronel. The First Season (2009) of Archaeological Research by the Iranian-Italian Joint Expedition at Qaleh Kutchek, Halil Valley (Jiroft, Kerman Province, SE Iran)

3D laser scanning of Parthian sculptural reliefs: The experience of the Iranian-Italian Joint Expedition in Khuzestan (Iran)

Three-dimensional (3D) digital models obtained by laser scanning are particularly useful for monuments located in remote places and suffering from erosion such as ancient rock carvings. Here we describe research by the Iranian-Italian Joint Expedition in Khuzestan, which conducted surveys on three rock carvings dating to the Parthian period (2nd century b.c.–3rd century a.d.). The rock carvings of Hung-e Azhdar, Hung-e Yaralivand, and Hung-e Kamalvand are located near the modern city of Izeh, in the highlands of the Khuzestan province of southwestern Iran. The 3D digital models of the rock carvings provide new information on their method of manufacture and cultural significance by bringing forward previously undetected details, both technical and iconographical. The digital measurements reveal that the Hung-e Azhdar relief was re-sculpted in antiquity, and that on the upper part of the Hung-e Yaralivand relief there are clear traces of an inscription unnoticed by previous surveys. Given that these observations are the result of objective measurements verifiable by other observers using the same data, the 3D surface analysis offers promise of an advance in the study of ancient sculptural works and the models are innovative means for documenting and sharing both raw and elaborated data.

Return to Shami. Preliminary Survey of the Iranian- Italian Joint Expedition in Khuzistan at Kal-E Chendar

On September 2012, the Iranian-Italian Joint Expedition in Khuzistan started a preliminary survey at Kal-e Chendar, in the valley of Shami (Iranian Khuzistan), a site investigated in 1936 by Aurel Stein after the accidental discovery of a well-known bronze statue portraying a Parthian nobleman, and never visited again. It was potentially one of the most important religious places of Hellenistic and Parthian Elymais, and this is confirmed by the present survey, which revealed the presence of monumental terraces built in undressed stones, decayed structures, and tombs over an area extending about 50 ha.