5000-Year-Old Mud Houses Discovered in Nader Tepe - CAIS Archaeological & Cultural News of the Iranian World©

LONDON, (CAIS) -- Continuation of stratigraphy works in Bronze Age layers of Nader Tepe historical site in Ardabil province led to discovery of the remains of 5000-year-old houses in the lower layers of this hill as well as the remains of ceramic vessels.

Archeologists believe that the architectural style of these residential settlements is quite unique compared to the previous ones which had been discovered before in different part of the country.

“The remains of narrow but strong mud walls and floors of residential houses were the most prominent achievements during the stratigraphy works in Nader Tepe historical site. Archeological studies on the remains of these walls show a difference in architectural style of these residential settlements in comparison with the ones which already discovered in other historical sites in Iran,” said Karim Alizadeh, head of excavation team in Nader Tepe.

Nadershah_Statue_Mashad.jpg (23381 bytes)

Statue of Nader Shah by Master Abolhassan Khan Sadighi, Nader Mausoleum in Mas.had

(Click to enlarge)

Alizadeh also talked about discovery of the remains of large numbers of animal bone fragments and coaled seeds in the ancient bronze layers of Nader Tepe historical site. “Most of the discovered seeds are wheat and barley. The proof for the existence of such seeds during the ancient times in this historical site is a very important discovery. To determine the exact date of this historical site, Carbon 14 tests will be done on the plant and animal samples,” added Alizadeh.

Since no cultural evidence belonging to the Achaemenid dynastic era (550-330 BCE) has been found so far during the stratigraphy works in Nader Tepe, Alizadeh believes that most probably no one lived in this area during the Achaemenid dynasty at least in the layers which have been studied so far.

According to Alizadeh, some clays dating back to the Iron Age II and III, have also been unearthed in Nader Tepe.

During the 75-day stratigraphy research in Nader Tepe historical site several layers belonging to different historical periods from the third millennium BCE up to the Islamic period have been identified.

Nader Tepe, which according to some historical texts is known to have a relation with Nader Shah’s coronation in 1736 CE, the founder of Afsharid dynasty (1736–1802), is a rich archeological site in Ardabil province, locating close to the border of Iran and Arran (today known as the Republic of Azerbaijan).

Extracted From/Source: CHN

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