Journal of Archaeological Studies

Abstract The contractor of the gas line transition from Damghan to Neka destroyed and recovered two tombs in 2014. The site is located 80 km south of Sari. Archaeological excavations led to discovering two historical cemeteries, settlements, and an Islamic castle and cemetery. Architectural remains and objects indicate historical catacomb burials. There are questions about the site including the architectural structure of the catacombs, burial method and dating. Systematic survey and excavation and subsequent comparison of data, with burial method, suggest a vast Parthian settlement in the site. Vestemin is the first Parthian site in Mazandaran. What distinguishes the site from the other Parthian cemeteries is the family catacombs. The Vestemin catacombs consist of three parts, including 1) the rectangular space or the corridor, 2) threshold or entrance between the rectangular space and the catacomb chamber, 3) the catacomb chamber. Armaments including swords, daggers, arrowheads, trefoil arrowheads, and armor were among the findings of the cemetery. Varieties of the objects and using armaments as gifts, had nothing to the deceased’s gender. Investigating the types of armaments reveal how the cavalries applied them, because armaments such as swords, daggers, and arrowheads, are light weapons that Agile Parthian cavalries used against the romans’ heavy weapons, as their classic enemy

Abstract In 2014, the contractor company operating the Damghan-Neka gas transmission line demolished and exposed two Parthian burial mounds in the village of Vestemin. Vestemin is located 80 km south of Sari. The historic site of Vestemin includes the east cemetery, the west cemetery, the settlement site, the castle and the Islamic cemetery. Vestemin is the first Parthian site in Mazandaran that has been excavated. What distinguishes this cemetery from other Parthian cemeteries discovered in the Parthian cultural sphere is that its western cemetery contains family burial mounds, which are unique in terms of architecture. The burial mounds of Vestemin Cemetery have three sections: 1) rectangular spaces or corridors, 2) entrances or gates between the corridor and the crypt, and 3) the crypt room. All of the burials are mass graves. The number of people buried in the tombs varies from one to five, and the method of burial is mostly squat. Seals and ring seals with human, animal, bird, plant, geometric, rider and fireplace motifs are among the motifs found in the western burial mound cemetery. In using the seals as a gift, the gender of the deceased was does not seem to have been a determining factor. This collection of Parthian seals is unique in terms of the number and variety of seal designs.