Journal of Archaeological Studies

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.

Abstract During the Sassanid period, countless artworks have been created by artists that include types of motifs The study of animal designs two forms 1- Real animals 2- Mythical and mixed animals, and understanding the symbolic and mythical meanings of each one in this research And the question of the research is, what animals real or mythical and combined are involved in the rock reliefs,filets  and seals of the Sassanid period, and what are the concepts of these animals and which of these three works of art does each of these motifs have? The purpose of the research is to obtain concepts and categorize these animals in three types of rock reliefs,filets  and seals of the Sassanid period. As a result, the research is presented in a tabular form which shows that these elements are related to the astronomical, cosmic, Zoroastrian, and mythological concepts of Iran. The use of numerous animal designs for the manifestation of the gifts and blessings of life expressed in the form of visual arts by the artist and the Sassanian artist in symbolic roles is reluctant to express the reality, but his aim is to look after the scenes. In general, as we get closer to the end of the Sassanian period from the ancient times, the number of works with the role of mixed beasts and their godliness is diminished and associated more with Iranian mythology.Illustration in Sassanid art is of special importance according to the perspective in ancient Iran.

Abstract Seals are one of the most important archaeological findings that provide reliable information about geographical names and job positions of the past. During Sasanian period seals were used by individual government officials. The use of seals expanded with the growth of Sasanian economy. In the archives of the Bu’ali Museum of Hamadan, 23 Sassanid seals from the Asadabad area are kept. Eleven of these seals have motifs of human, six have animal motifs, one has hand motif and two others hybrid mythological. The present research deals with the ten seals. Among these ten seals, five have human image (four a man’s image and one a woman image), four seals have animal designs (three bull and one ram) and one is a monogram seal. The purpose of this research is to document, read inscriptions and examine the roles of these seals.

Abstract Seals and clay sealings are the most important cultural material of Sasanian period. There have been a few seals and bullas of various periods retained in the Moghadam Museum of Tehran. These materials have not been introduced so far. Authors of the present paper aim at to study and introduce the sasanian seals and bullas of this museum especially those bearing animal symbolic motifs. We do this through comparing them by the same materials of the different collections such as Qasr-i Abu Nasr and Takht-i Soleiman collections while some of them are introduced here for the first time. The most interesting thing which we foun by this sresearch have been the Mithraism elements which were used by Sasanians as iconographic motifs on their sealing systems.