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A
tan buff jar from Tappeh Giyan
(Click
to enlarge)
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Giyan Hill in Nahavand, located in mid
west Iran, is considered one of the most important
ancient hills of the country along with to Sialk in
Kashan and Hesar in Damghan. Yet it has not received the
attention it deserves.
The archaeologist who has undertaken the first season of
excavations in Giyan 70 years after studies by the
French archaeologists from the Louver museum, Mehrdad
Malekzadeh believes that the old diggings there has
caused the Gowdin Hill in Kangavar, although not
historically as important, to overtake Giyan in the
chronologies of Iran's history.
"In the prehistoric times and in the beginning of
history, the two were considered important cultural
centers in mid west Iran, but the old diggings in Giyan
led to its being disregarded and Gowdin's being
considered as the source of chronology," explained
Malekzadeh.
According to him, today the mid western Iran is studied
based on the stratigraphy of Gowdin which provides
sufficient information on the time in between the
Neolithic and the Bronze ages. However, it fails to
account for the interval between the Bronze and Iron
ages.
In the first season of excavations in Giyan, carried out
in summer 2003, the preliminary stages for digging
boring pits in order to demarcate the area, set as the
first goal of the project, were completed.
The most important excavation activity in Giyan,
Malekzadeh believes, is the stratigraphy of the area.
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