Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Ph.D. Candidate in Department of Archaeology, Tehran Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

2 Professor of Archaeology, Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

3 Professor of Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

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

Keywords

Main Subjects

Barzegar, Ardeshir, 2002, History of Tabaristan, edited by Mohammad Shokri Foumashi, Tehran, Rasanesh. [in persian].
Bayani, Shirin, 1998, Parthian Evening and Sassanid Morning, Tehran, University of Tehran. [in persian]. 
College, Malcolm, 2001, Parthians, translated by Massoud Rajabnia, Tehran, Hirmand. [in persian].
Debevoise, N.C. 1938. A political History of Parthia, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Farrokh, Kaveh, 2008, The elite cavalry of Sassanid army, translated by Behnam Mohammadpanah, Tehran, Sabzan. [in persian].
Frye, Richard Nelson, 2001, The history of ancient Iran, Tehran, Scientific and Cultural. [in persian].
Ghirshman, Roman, 2004, Iran, from origins to Islam, Tehran, Amirkabir. [in persian].
Gutschmid, Alfred Fan, 2009, History of Iran and its neighbors, Tehran, Qoqnous. [in persian].
Haghighat, Abdolrafie, 2000, Iranian History Calendar, Tehran, Koomesh. [in persian].
Hekmat, Alireza, 1971, Education in Ancient Iran, First Edition, Tehran, Kayhan. [in persian].
Ibn Esfandiar, 1987, History of Tabaristan, edited by Abbas Eghbal Ashtiyani, Tehran, Khavar. [in persian].
Mohammadifar, Yaghoub, 2008, Parthian Archeology and Art, Tehran, Samt. [in persian].
Mashkour, Mohammad Javad, 1998, Parthian Political and Social History, Tehran, donyaye ketab. [in persian].
Nirnouri, Hamid, 1966, Iran's share in world civilization, second edition, Tehran, National Iranian Oil Company. [in persian].
Parviz, Abbas, 2011, History of Iran, Tehran, Negah. [in persian].
Pourdavood, Ebrahim, 2003, Ancient weaponry, Tehran, Asatir. [in persian].
Pirnia, Hassan, 2010, History of Ancient Iran, Vol. 2, Tehran, Negah. [in persian].
Pigulevskaia، Nina Viktorovna, 1993, Cities of Iran in the Parthian and Sassanid eras, Translated by Enayatollah Reza, Tehran, Scientific and Cultural. [in persian].
Rostovtzeff, M.I. and Bellinger, A.R.1931. The Excavations at Dura-Europos.Yale University Press.
Sharp, Ralph Norman, 2005, The inscriptions in old Persian cuneiform of the Achaemenian emperors, Second Edition, Tehran, Pazineh. [in persian].
Shapour Shahbazi, Alireza, 1986. ARMY i. Pre-Islamic Iran,” Encyclopædia Iranica“II/5, pp. 489-499.
Schippmann, Klaus, 2005, Basic features of Parthian history, Tehran, Farzan Rooz. [in persian]
Verstandig Andre, (2001) History of Parthian Empire, Tehran, Jami. [in persian].
Wolski, Jozef, 2004, Empire of the Arsacids, Tehran, Qoqnous. [in persian].
Wiesehofer, Josef, 2013, The Parthian Empire and its testimonies The Arsacid empire - sources and documentation: Contributions of the international Colloquium, Eutin, Tehran, Farzan Rooz. [in Persian].
Zarrinkoob, Abdolhossein, 2005, History of the Iranian people; History of Iran before Islam, Third Edition, Tehran, Amirkabir. [in persian].
Ziapour, Jalil, 1964, Ancient Iranian clothing (from the earliest times to the end of the Sassanid Empire), Tehran, General Directorate of Museums and Popular Culture, Fine Arts. [in persian].