Tepe Hissar 2002 Overview

Final Publication of the Bronze Age Ceramic Sequence from Tepe Hissar, Iran.
Ayse Gursan-Salzmann

The aim of this project is to analyze, interpret and prepare for publication the Early Bronze Age ceramic assemblages from Tepe Hissar, to establish a new, clearly documented chronology for the site and the region. The archaeological evidence from two sets of unpublished ceramic assemblages forms the background for this study: Erich F. Schmidt's excavations in 1931-32, and excavations by Robert H. Dyson in 1976.

Tepe Hissar, the largest known urban settlement in northeastern Iran, is located about 90 HYPERLINK http://km.to km. to the southeast of the Caspian Sea, near the modern city of Damghan, and west of Turkmenistan (fig. 1). For six decades the site has provided the primary archaeological record in the region, with its continuous habitation levels from the fifth to the second mill. BCE (4,5001900) Its strategic location along the major East-West trade route, between southern Mesopotamia, Iranian plateau and Central Asia, further heightens its presumed economic and political role in the region. The importation of lapis and turquoise implies connections with the east, and at the same time links with the west have been documented by blank clay tablets reminiscent of Proto-Elamite tablets, and a cylinder seal. Its importance, therefore, as a cornerstone of chronology, cannot be overemphasized.

Erich F. Schmidt's excavations (1931-32) were jointly sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania Museum and the Pennsylvania Museum of Art. His excavation methods were revolutionary for his time, although in the light of contemporary methodology, his recording of stratigraphy was inadequate, partly due to the disturbance of large number of graves. This resulted in the inadequate definition of occupational phases which his reports (1933, 1937) included only 15% of the total excavated ceramic assemblage, drawn from grave contexts.

In 1976 Robert H. Dyson's University Museum-sponsored excavations corrected these earlier shortcomings. In his report he discusses the results of architecture and stratigraphy, linking them with a series of radiocarbon dates (Howard & Dyson ed. 1989).The full stratified ceramic assemblage, however, remains unpublished. This proposal aims to use Dyson's assemblage from the occupational levels as the basis of analysis to establish a clear and complete ceramic chronology, and to link it, where possible, with Schmidt's stylistic grave sequence.

While both excavators have published general reports of their excavations neither Schmidt nor Dyson did a publication of the full ceramic assemblages. The rapid and detailed publication of the new chronology, based on the the entire assemblage from two cycles of excavations has become now more crucial than ever since excavation data from Central Asian sites, in particular, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and northern Afghanistan (Sarianidi,1990; Hiebert, 1994b) are becoming accessible, thus enhancing the pivotal role Tepe Hissar played in cultural and historical connections between Mesopotamia and Central Asia.