A Study of the Architectural Remains of the Sasanian Site of Tol-e Qaleh Seyfabad -Kazerun: A Suggestion about the Function

Mohammadifar, Yaghoub; Nourozai, Reza

doi:10.22059/jarcs.2022.336364.143078

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

¹ Professor of the Department of Archeology of Boali Sina University, Hamadan, Iran.

² Ph.D. Candidate of the Department of Archeology of Boali Sina University, Hamadan, Iran.

https://doi.org/10.22059/jarcs.2022.336364.143078

Abstract

The archaeological site of Tol-e Qaleh Seyfabad, with an area of approximately 160 hectares, is one of the important sites of the Sasanian period, which was formed about 500m west of Parishan Lake, in the southwest of Kazerun city, on the natural hill so-called Tol-e Pahan. Due to the building of the Kazerun-Shiraz gas pipeline between 1984 and 1986, the middle part of this site was severely destroyed. Archaeological excavation, as well as ground surveys, show that the exposed building/fort in Tol-e Qaleh Seyfabad has a quadrangular structure, each side of which is probably between 75 and 80 m long, and there were probably four towers in its four corners. The low thickness of the external wall, the type, and quality of construction materials used in it, as well as the dimensions of the interior spaces/units, may indicate that the building was not very high. The spaces adjacent to the northwestern principal wall are generally small and are used for storing and processing agricultural products.In the four corners of the Nakhlak fort located in the intermediate region of Naein and Anarak, the towers are similar to Tol-e Qaleh Seyfabad’s tower, although it has a different plan. In addition, other defensive buildings such as Fulayj fort in Oman, Gorgan Wall fortifications, and Abu Sharifa fort in Mesopotamia are among the defensive structures that are similar to the Tol-e Qaleh Seyfabad building in terms of plans and towers. Archaeological excavation, as well as ground surveys, show that the exposed building/fort in Tol-e Qaleh Seyfabad has a quadrangular structure, each side of which is probably between 75 and 80 m long, and there were probably four towers in its four corners. The low thickness of the external wall, the type, and quality of construction materials used in it, as well as the dimensions of the interior spaces/units, may indicate that the building was not very high. The spaces adjacent to the northwestern principal wall are generally small and are used for storing and processing agricultural products.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Click subject name to see related articles.

References

Al-Jahwari, N., Kennet, D., Priestman, S., & Sauer, E. 2018, :”Fulayj: A Late Sasanian fort on the Arabian coast”, Antiquity, 92(363), 724-741.

Al-Kassar, A. 1979, “Tell Abū Š‘af”, Sumer (A Journal of Archaeology & History in Arab World), 469–471.

Askari Chaverdi ,A , Cereti C., 2013,”Preliminary notes on two small groups of Sasanian bullae recently discovered in Fārs”, in D. Tokhtasev et P. Luria, Commentationes Iranicae. Vladimiro f. Aaron Livschits nonagenario donum natalicium. St. Petersburg, 182-190.

Barfi, C. Amiri, M. Malekzadeh, S. and Daryaee, T. 2013,” A Concise Report on Some Newly Found Sasanian Sites in Kāzerūn”, e-Sasanika, Archaeology http://www.sasanika.org/wp-content/uploads/e-sas-arch.

Daryaee, T. 2016, On the Explanation of Chess and Backgammon = Abar Wizārišn ī Čatrang ud Nihišn Nēw-Ardaxšīr(Ancient Iran Series).UCI Jordan Center for Persian Studies.

Douglas, J ., 1999, "British goals and operations in the construction of Bushehr-Shiraz road (1918-19)", translated by M. Arbab, Tarikhe Moasere Iran, Volume 3, Number 12, 93-112. ]In Persian[.

Frye, R. N., 1973, Sasanian Remains from Qasr-i Abu Nast. Seals, Sealings, and Coins, Cambridge, Harvard University Press.

Ghasemi, P., 2009, Report on the study, identification and documentation of the central part of Kazerun, Documentation Center of the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts of Fars Province. ]In Persian[.

Ghasemi, P. Noruzi, R. Gyselen, R. Mashkour, M. Rezaei, A., 2020, “Tol-e Qaleh Seyfābād (TQS), a Major Provincial Centre of the Sasanian Period in Bišābuhr Province, Fars, Iran: Preliminary Excavation Report”, Ancient Near Eastern Studies 57, 259-297.

Ghasemi, P., Gizlin, R., Nowruzi, R., Rezaei, A., 2017, "Reconstruction of the divisions of Sassanid province of Bishabour based on the discovery of some new toponyms from the administrative bullae of tol-e Qale Seyfabad (TQS), Kazerun,Fars. ", Pajuheshhaye Bastanshenasi Iran (Journal Iranian Archaeological Research of Iran), Volume 7, No. 14, 91-101. ]In Persian[.

Ghirshman, R., 2000, Bishapour, Translator: A. Karimi, Volume One, First Edition, Tehran, Cultural Heritage Research Institute. ]In Persian[.

Goebbels, R., 2007, The bullae of Takht-e Soleiman: An Inquiry into Late Sassanid Mehrology, Translated by Faramarz Najd Samiei, First Edition, Tehran, Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization. ]In Persian].

Hallier, U.,1975, Dej-e Atashgah va Chahartaqi -e Nakhlak, Archaeological Reports of Iran, Expedition of German Archaeologists, Translated by S. Habibi, Tehran, Bongah-e Tarjome o Nashr-e Ketab. ]In Persian[.

Khosrowzadeh, A. Norouzi,A. Habibi,H., 202 ,“A Newly Discovered Administrative Center of the Late Sasanian Empire: Tappe Bardnakoon, Farsan, Iran”.Near Eastern archaeology, 83 (4), 222-233.

Norouzi, R., 2009, Survey and identification report of Kazerun city, Archive of Archaeological Research Institute. ]In Persian[.

Norouzi, R., Ghasemi, P., 2017, Report of the second season of excavation in the Sassanian site of Tol-e Qale Seyfabad in Kazerun-Fars, Tehran,ICAR.]In Persian[.

Norouzi, R., Ghasemi, P and Rezaei, A ., 2015, The report of the first season of excavation at the Sassanian site of Tol-e Qale Seyfabad, Tehran, ICAR. ]In Persian[.

Norouzi, R., Ghasemi, P., and Rezaei, A., 2014, Preliminary report of the first season of excavation of the Sassanian site of Tol-e Qale Seyfabad, Tehran,ICAR. ]In Persian[.

Rezaei, M. H ., 2007, Archaeological Survey and Identification of Central Plain of Kazerun, M.Sc. Thesis, Alireza H. N., Tarbiat Modares University, Faculty of Literature and Humanities. ]In Persian[.

Sarfaraz, A. A., Teymouri, M., 2007, "Space Organization of the Sassanid city of Bishapour", Bagh-e Nazar, No. 8, 91-102. ]In Persian[.

Sauer, E. W., 2013, Persia's imperial power in late antiquity: The Great Wall of Gorgan and frontier landscapes of Sasanian Iran. Oxbow Books.

Vanden berge, L.,1970, Archeology of Ancient Iran, Translated by I. Behnam, Second Edition, Tehran, University of Tehran. ]In Persian[

Vanden berge, L (2002), Qale Puskan, Kazerun, Translator: S. Bani Ahmad, First Edition, Tehran, Kazerunieh. ]In Persian[

Vanden Berghe, L.,1990, ”La découverte d’un château-fort du début de l’époque islamique à Pūskān (Irān) : Survivance d’éléments architecturaux sassanides”. Iranica Antiqua, IV,1-85

Whitcomb, D. 1985, Before the Roses and Nightingales: Excavations at Qasr-i Abu Nasr, Old Šīrāz. New York, Metro- politan Museum of Art.

Winlock, H. E., Walter Hauser, and Joseph M. Upton., 1934, “The Persian Expedition 1933–1934.” Bulletin of The Metropolitan Museum of Art 29, no. 12, 3–22.

Journal of Archaeological Studies

A Study of the Architectural Remains of the Sasanian Site of Tol-e Qaleh Seyfabad -Kazerun: A Suggestion about the Function

References

References

Volume 14, Issue 1 - Serial Number 29
June 2022
Pages 83-105

A Study of the Architectural Remains of the Sasanian Site of Tol-e Qaleh Seyfabad -Kazerun: A Suggestion about the Function

References

References

Volume 14, Issue 1 - Serial Number 29June 2022Pages 83-105

Volume 14, Issue 1 - Serial Number 29
June 2022
Pages 83-105