نتایج لایه‌نگاری محوطۀ گردی‌شیطان در دشت پیرانشهر؛ شواهدی از دورۀ مس‌و‌سنگ و اشکانی

دشت پیرانشهر به‌دلیل وجود رودخانه‌های دائمی و پر آب هم‌چون زاب کوچک و خاک حاصلخیز و مناسب برای کشاورزی، همواره از پیش‌ازتاریخ تا عصر کنونی موردتوجه جوامع انسانی بوده است. در سال‌های اخیر به‌دلیل کنترل آب‌های مرزی اقدام به ساخت چندین سد شده است که سد کانی‌شینکا ازجملۀ این سدها است. محوطۀ گردی‌شیطان، یکی از محوطه‌هایی است که در چارچوب برنامۀ نجات‌‌بخشی سد کانی‌شینکا مورد کاوش قرار گرفت. هدف اصلی از کاوش این محوطه، برآورد اولیه از وضعیت لایه‌های باستانی بود تا در صورت ضرورت کاوش نجات‌بخشی، برنامه‌ای بلندمدت تدوین شود؛ از این‌رو، گمانۀ‌ لایه‌نگاری در قسمت مرتفع تپه ایجاد شد و در نتیجۀ کاوش مشخص شد که این محوطه دارای بیش از سه متر نهشته‌های باستانی شامل دوره‌های اشکانی، مس‌وسنگ متاخر (پیزدلی) و مس‌‌وسنگ قدیم (دالما) است. اگرچه محوطۀ گردی‌‌شیطان در راستای پروژه نجات‌بخشی کاوش شد، اما با این‌وجود پرسش‌هایی نظیر جایگاه و چگونگی دوره‌های شناسایی شده، ازجمله دورۀ دالما موردتوجه قرار گرفت. درنهایت، این نوشتار سعی‌بر این دارد که یافته‌های حاصل از کاوش، معرفی و طبقه‌بندی شوند و ازطریق نتایج منتشر شدۀ محوطه‌های دیگر به مقایسۀ تطبیقی یافته‌ها بپردازد. مطالعۀ سفال‌های به‌دست آمده از لایه‌های دالمایی نشان می‌دهد که محوطۀ گردی‌شیطان غالب گونه‌های سفالی منتسب به فرهنگ دالما را دارا بوده و هم‌چنین با توجه به شناسایی سفال‌های نوع پیزدلی می‌توان مرحلۀ گذار به این فرهنگ را نیز مورد بررسی قرار داد. در نوشتار حاضر ضمن ارائه یک لایه‌نگاری از محوطه، سعی‌شده است که یافته‌های به‌دست آمده، مخصوصاً سفال نیز معرفی و طبقه‌بندی شوند. نتایج اولیۀ کاوش گردی‌شیطان نشان‌داد که یکی از سکونتگاه‌های شاخص مربوط به دورۀ دالما در جنوب دریاچۀ ارومیه بوده است.

archaeological stratigraphy of girdi sheytan site in piranshahr plain; evidence from the parthian and chalcolithic periods

piranshahr plain contains evidence of almost continuous occupation of human populations from prehistoric times to the present. the popularity of the plain stems from the existence of permanent rivers such as little zab and its fertile soil suitable for agriculture. in recent years, due to the control of the boundary waters, several dams have been constructed, including kani shinka in west azerbaijan province, iran. girdi sheytan is one of the five archaeological sites excavated as part of the rescue archaeological plan related to kani shinka dam. the primary goal of the excavation was the preliminary evaluation of the site’s strata to develop a long-term plan in case there was a need for rescue excavation. hence, a stratigraphic trench was dug in the higher part of the mound, and as a result, it was found that the mound contains more than three meters of archaeological deposits, including the parthian and chalcolithic periods. the trench revealed that girdi sheytan could be one of the major sites of the dalma culture in northwestern iran. although the site was originally excavated as a rescue project, the main questions of the present study included: what cultural periods does the site represent? what is the importance of the identified periods, including the dalma culture? the examination of the potsherds recovered from the dalma strata showed that girdi sheytan contains most of the types associated with the dalma culture. furthermore, the discovery of pisdeli-style sherds among them makes it possible to study the transitional stage of this culture. in this article, while presenting the stratigraphy of the area, an attempt has been made to introduce and classify the obtained findings, especially pottery. the preliminary results of excavation at girdi sheytan implied that this area was one of the most significant settlements related to the dalma culture in the south of lake urmia. keywords: piranshahr plain, girdi sheytan, dalma, pisdeli, parthian period.introductionthe evidence from the stratigraphy of girdi sheytan represents two important periods, namely the parthian and the chalcolithic (contemporary to the dalma and pisdeli cultures, respectively). the first 12 contexts belong to the parthian period and with the inclusion of the wall foundation from context 1011, the parthian works approximately span the superficial 1.5 meters. chalcolithic (pisdeli) pottery items begin to appear from context 1013. while parthian and chalcolithic potsherds were discovered together in one section of this context due to activities around the parthian wall foundation, contexts 1013–1024 generally contain evidence from the chalcolithic period (pisdeli). the dalma-style pottery appears from context 1025, which extends to the deepest level of the excavation and holds a diverse set of dalma pottery.girdi sheytan ioverall, the evidence from girdi sheytan i belongs to the parthian period, with architectural evidence appearing from the very first stratum. although the test pit was stratigraphic and the limited space of the excavation prohibits so much evidence to be discovered, the presence of about 1.5 meters of deposits points to the significance of girdi sheytan and to the long life of the parthian-era settlement here. the parthian evidence included cairns found in different levels, from the surface strata down to those about 1.5 meters deep. some of the cairns consisted of one row of stones, while others comprised of two rows. the function of the cairns remains undetermined.better-preserved wall remains were discovered at a depth of 80 cm. the extension of the stratigraphic test pit revealed the structure to be about 70cm wide and 80cm high. the remains appeared to be part of the foundation of a well-organized wall, whose function could not be determined with certainty since only two meters of its length were excavated. however, the careful placement of the wall stones and of the mortar between them, as well as the extension of the wall along the test pit, point to a large architectural space. the discovered parthian artifacts consisted of stone objects such as mortars and pestles, as well as potsherds. mostly coming in the form of jars, bowls, and cooking pots, the earthenware was decorated with striped patterns in low relief and engraved parallel, wavy lines. there was also one clay artifact with painted geometric designs.girdi sheytan iiappearing beneath the parthian wall foundation, the evidence from girdi sheytan ii belongs to the pisdeli culture. in total, 1.80 cm of the site’s lower strata represents the chalcolithic period (pisdeli and dalma). the considerable finds from the pisdeli culture consisted of an infant jar burial and the remains of several heating structures. also found within the dalma strata, the heating structures point to the practice of cooking in that part of the mound. in other words, the evidence shows that the eastern part of the mound was reserved for daily tasks related to food preparation. given the absence of any significant architectural evidence, it seems that such activities were done outdoors. another important find from the excavation was the infant jar burial, which was discovered at a depth of 158 cm after the pit was extended into a trench westward and the wall foundation was removed. the jar was located inside one of the heating structures, and following documentation, it was found to have scraped off the floor of the structure, suggesting that it is more recent than the structure. as a possible indication of another settlement phase, the burial may have been done inside the heating structure when it had already gone out of use. girdi sheytan iiithe findings from this level match the characteristics of the dalma culture. as with those from the pisdeli culture, a great portion of the important dalma finds were heating structures. as the excavation continued, a part of a round heating structure appeared at a depth of 240 cm on the southeastern side of the site and was registered as context 1035. sherds broken off of the structure, a large fired cylindrical clay object (17 × 30 cm), and a small, fired clay object (10 × 12 cm) were discovered around the structure—the two clay objects may be related to the