Archaeologists identified a different architectural structure after nearly three months of excavation in the Uzbek area in Nazarabad plain of Alborz province while searching for a “III or Median Iron Age” area. Their first guess is that this adobe structure is from the Achaemenid period.
According to ISNA, the ancient site of Uzbek is located in Nazarabad in Alborz province and 2 km from Tehran. This range encompasses a tall hill called Uzbek and several smaller hills called “Gomesh Tappeh,” “Jeyran Tappeh,” “Yan Tappeh,” “Maral Tappeh,” “Dpshan Tappeh” and “Tappeh Takhtgah.”
This ancient area, located in private property, was first explored, in 1998 AD, by Yusuf Majidzadeh and remains from the Medes era, and the iron age II and III (2 and 3) were identified. These excavations continued until 2005 and the age of the site was speculated as nearly 6000 years.
Now, after nearly 20 years, archeologists have gone back to the Uzbek range. They were searching for the Median trace, but came across new discoveries: A clay structure with architecture different from the Median era, considered an Achaemenid structure. However, to confirm this speculation, the result of carbon 14 tests will give a clarification.
Archeologists who explored Dooshan Tappeh, one of the 7 satellite hills of Uzbek range, for nearly 3 months, are spending their final days there. But the workers have long since left, in anger. Mehrdad Malekzadeh, the head of the Dooshan Tappeh Archeology Exploration, says: “They went because they did not receive salaries.” The excavations, however, continued with volunteer forces and archaeological experts. The budget was set at 1.2 billion tomans, but, as head of the explorations says, 80% of this budget has yet not been paid.
The archeologists had begun drilling in Dooshan Tappeh, to find Median signs. They first opened a 10 X 10 sqm workshop near Yusuf Majidzadeh’s workshop. While digging, they encountered a stone hedge, then reaching an adobe wall, when they decided to make the workshop slightly larger. Excavation came to a pristine soil, but on the other hand, the archeologists were encouraged to continue their work in more seasons. Now, new questions have risen, and it is suggested that another period be added to the historical sequence of the Uzbek site.
Mehrdad Malekzadeh, the head of the Dooshan Tappeh Archaeological Exploration Board, told reporters who attended the exploration of the 6,000-year-old Uzbek area about the importance of the site, its findings and the need to continue their excavations and archaeological research. One of the important eras of Iran’s history and culture, before the Achaemenid period, is the Medes era. According to the historical geography the Medes had two important centers: an administrative center in the west of Iran, on the foot of Mount Alvand, called Hekmataneh, and other is “Rey”. The Greek texts also mention “Rey was the biggest city of the Medes territories”. Hekmataneh was the political capital of the Medes and Rey, their cultural center, almost a less well-known period in ancient Iranian history and culture, But, the important role that the Medes played became the cultural history of Iran gave birth to the global empire of the Persian Achaemenids.
Malekzadeh continued: “Medes era archeology is subject to some problems and Hekmataneh, as the archeologists had hoped, has not been able to give an answer to many questions.”
Malekzadeh continued: “From about 60-70 years ago, a few standard areas from the Medes era have been dug, such as Noshijan Tappeh Malayer, Goodin Tappeh Kangavar, and Babajan Nourabad, which is enough information to archaeologists from the III or II Era Cultural Age. One of the questions that the archeologists face has always been to know what were the cultural signs of the eastern lands of the Medes, where Rey was their center, and how much of this puzzle can it solve? But ancient Rey has unfortunately gone under the city of Tehran, and practically the possibility of pursuing archeological excavation does not exist. For example, it is not possible for us to buy large real estate because registration plan in Tehran is very costly.
Malekzadeh continued: From nearly 30-40 years ago it became clear that one of the stopovers of greater Khorasan, a few stops before Rey, is Uzbek, that had cultural signs of the Medes era, similar to which could be found in Rey. Therefore, in terms of understanding the history of Iranian architecture and urbanization, the Uzbek site can answer our fundamental questions about the formation of the Achaemenid architecture, the previous periods and government institutions that evolved in these periods, and the history of the art and architecture of this period.
He recalled the excavations of Yusuf Majidzadeh in the late 1370s, which continued for six seasons, and found the Medes fortress, cemetery and architectural structures from the iron age II and III, and said: Uzbek is a cultural symbol of Alborz province and officials in this province are reasonably ambitious about wanting to internationally register this scope. But, 20 years have passed since they were published. On the other hand, knowledge has not stopped advancing in these years, especially since UNESCO is strict about the need to produce content this area. Therefore, it was decided that in this season of excavation, we dig for texture and gain more information, publish books in English to address this cultural collection’s global importance, and produce content to produce a well-known and worthy cause. Prepare for the World Register of the Uzbek site. Uzbek is potentially valuable because of the architectural texture found in Uzbek Hill, the cultural diversity in other satellite hills, and a collection of cultural transformations of this part of Iran from the sixth and seventh millennia to BC. The Timurid and Safavid were completed in the middle of the Islamic period.
Malekzadeh continued: Mr. Majidzadeh introduced three layers of architecture in a workshop where the remains are still available: Material architecture and two layers of gray pottery architecture. Searching for similar examples, we opened a new workshop in Dooshan Tappeh. We found the upper layers of the architecture texture of the nomads. Then, we reached a solid architectural layer that has one side 7 m long and possibly another side of the same length. This is assumed to be a big space, and upto this stage of digging, 3.5 m height of the wall is buried under the ground.
The archeologist believes that the common Median people could not have built such a significant architectural structure. We hope that in the coming seasons, we open new workshops in order to learn about the plan of this building. If we identify a street and reconstruct the city texture of this site, we will turn a new leaf in Iranian architectural history.
In search of the remains of III or Median Iron Age, we started exploring the hill, but we have found a structure that, in the light of similar cases, is likely to be related to the Achaemenid period. – Because the Achaemenid bricks are square, we have found 35 X 40 cm bricks in Dooshan Tappeh. We hope that the OSL and carbon 14 tests will shed light on the history of this site. If this is true, we can add a period of history to the settlement, as Majidzadeh had previously suggested.
According to the head of the Archaeological Exploration Board of Dooshan Tappeh, its architectural use is yet not known. But in the plan of this period, parallel walls are identified, and based on the reorder and geoelectric, rooms with a possible corridor have been identified. And considering the outcome of the excavations of the same land, if so, we think we have found a warehouse on the hill.
Archaeologists say that if the architectural structure is found to be a warehouse, other government facilities may be nearby.
Malekzadeh pointed to some materials found in this excavation season and added: “There are animal bones found in the Dooshan Tappeh that, after research, we can rebuild the livelihood of that period.” They have large domestic cows. Botanical tests have also been done to find out what plans were grown there. In this site barley and oat grains have been found.
In response to whether, in this season of excavation, any tablet or script has been found, he said: “Unfortunately, in the architecture of this period, even in Takhte Jamshid, except for royal inscriptions, no tablets have been found. We will be lucky if we find any inscription. But this is not the only subject of importance for us: a plan can give us a world of information and if we find a passage in the surrounding spaces, we can reconstruction of social classes and matters related to the reconstruction of social classes. Let’s go about it.”
The head of the Dooshan Tappeh Archaeological Exploration Group also said about the excavation in Jeyran Tappeh, another of the 7 hills in Uzbek range: “We opened two workshops to complete our studies; four graves of the iron age and several graves from the Islamic period have been identified.” We hope that with ancient bone and genetic studies, we will achieve more results from this site.
While announcing this season’s exploration, Malekzadeh said about the continuation of the excavations: But it is expected that we will need 5 seasons of excavations, and no less than that. Mr. Majidzadeh explored about six seasons in the Uzbek area. He had nearly five workers in some seasons, while we had less than 5 workers who went away in the middle of the excavations because they did not receive their salaries. so, we used a young archeological volunteer force.
