ارزیابی مجدد محوطۀ شهداد (2): گاهنگاری، مُهرها، اشیای فلزی و گِلی

محوطۀ شهداد یک، عنوان یکی از مراکز بزرگ شهری عصر مفرغ جنوب شرق ایران از اهمیت فراوانی در مطالعات باستان شناختی خاور نزدیک برخوردار است. با توجه به این مهم که حدود نیم قرن از آغاز کاوش های شهداد گذشته است، این ضرورت احساس شد تا نگاهی تازه به محوطۀ شهداد و اشیای به دست آمده از آن انداخته شود. پیش از این، در مقاله ای به اشیای سنگی (کلوریتی و مرمری)، سفال ها و گورهای بدست آمده از کاوش محوطۀ شهداد توسط نگارنده پرداخته شده است. در اینجا نیز بر آن هستیم تا دیگر مواد فرهنگی به دست آمده از کاوش های مرکز شهری شهداد، یعنی اشیای فلزی، اشیای گِلی و مُهر ها را مورد مطالعه و بازیینی قرار دهیم. این مقاله اطلاعاتی نیز از وضعیت برهمکنش های فرهنگی منطقه ای و فرامنطقه ای شهداد ارائه می کند. همچنین گاهنگاری ارائه شده توسط کاوشگر محوطۀ شهداد، مورد بازنگری اساسی قرار گرفته است و درنهایت براساس مطالعات مقایسه ای گاهنگاری جدیدی برای محوطۀ شهداد ارائه شده است. پرسش اصلی پژوهش حاضر این است که، آیا گاهنگاری ارائه شده برای محوطۀ شهداد پس از گذشت چند دهه کماکان مورد تایید است و یا بایستی یک گاهنگاری جدید برای این محوطه مهم ارائه گردد؟ طبیعی است که اطلاعات و شناخت ما از باستان شناسی عصر مفرغ جنوب شرق ایران به واسطۀ انجام فعالیت های میدانی بیشتر و همچنین به روز شدن روش های سالیابی مطلق، مانند روش ams، در مقایسه با گذشته، بیشتر شده باشد؛ از این رو با انجام مطالعۀ مقایسه ای محوطۀ شهداد با دیگر محوطه ها در مقایس منطقه ای و فرامنطقه ای، بدیهی است یک گاهنگاری دقیق تر برای آن ارائه گردد. پرسش دیگر این تحقیق، مشخص نمودن جایگاه محوطۀ شهداد در چرخۀ برهمکنش فرهنگی عصر مفرغ در جنوب غرب آسیا بر پایۀ مطالعۀ اشیای فلزی، گِلی و مُهرها بوده است. براساس داده های به دست آمده از کاوش های شهداد، تصور یک نقش مرکزی در شبکۀ گستردۀ مبادلات هزارۀ سوم قبل ازمیلاد جنوب غرب آسیا برای شهداد دور از ذهن نمی باشد.

A Reappraisal of Shahdad: Chronology, Seals, Metal and Clay Objects

AbstractThe western Lut desert is wellknown in the archaeology of Southwest Asia because of the existence of an early urban center (Shahdad) that dates back to the 3rd millennium BC. The site of Shahdad, as one of the major urban centers of the Bronze Age of Southeastern Iran, plays an important role in the Near Eastern archaeological studies. After half a century of Shahdad excavations, it is time to have a new look at Shahdad and its objects in light of our present knowledge from the archeology of southeast Iran. Here is an assessment of Shahdad data obtained from Shahdad excavations such as seals, metal and clay objects. In another article, we discussed the rest of finds of Shahdad. In this study we tried to present a revised chronology for Shahdad. This article also provides information on the status of the regional and transregional cultural interactions of Shahdad.Keywords: Shahdad, Chronology, Metal Objects, Seals, Cultural Interactions.IntroductionThe site of Shahdad is located at the base of an alluvial fan where it was in antiquity surrounded by the Shahdad River and a number of streams flowing east from their origin in the western mountains. In 1968, during a general geographical reconnaissance of the Lut depression, the Early Bronze Age site of Shahdad was identified. Excavations lead by Ali Hakemi of the Archaeological Service of Iran began in the following year and continued until 1978. The work concentered on a necropolis in which 383 graves were cleared including many with spectacular grave goods, including impressive human statuettes, elaborate metal objects such as a bronze standard, numerous stone and ceramic containers and ornamental finds. Hakemi also did some excavations in the east of the site, Operation D, which he identified as an industrial area of the urban center of Shahdad. Overall, excavations in necropolis and industrial area provided evidence for local craft activities and crossregional contact. This article reevaluates the results of Shahdad excavations conducted by Hakemi.Chronology, Seals, Metal and Clay ObjectsThe comparative study of the metal artifacts of Shahdad with those of the sites of Southwestern Asia revealed some results. First, the interactions of Shahdad with longdistance areas such as Indus valley, Central Asia, East, West and southwest of Iran were identified, then the evidence of the existence of a very homogenous style in metal objects in a wide geographical area was revealed and third, Shahdad was a metal production center with its own characteristics. Due to the comparative chronology, Shahdad metal artifacts date back from the mid third millennium BC to the early second millennium BC.According to the comparative studies, Shahdad seals share some similarities and characteristic with those of Early Bronze Age sites such as Shahre Sokhta, Jiroft, Tepe Yahya and the remote areas such as Central Asia and the IndoIranian borderlands. It was also revealed that most of Shahdad seals are not comparable with those found from other regions and they had their own local characteristics. Onecylinder seal was also uncovered from workshop D that is not yet published. Due to erosion, its motif is not very clear. It seems to represent a winged goddess.Two unique artifacts were found from Shahdad; one human statues and one house models. In total, 24 human clay statues were discovered from Shahdad cemetery which had ritual functions. The clay house models were uncovered from 33 graves of the cemetery of Shahdad. They are cubical and 2030 centimeters long. Some researchers take them as a 3D example of house motifs on chlorite vessels. Hakemi called them shrines.The comparative analysis of the funerary goods reveals that the cemetery A of Shahdad dates to the mid third millennium BC and lasts until the late third millennium BC (25002000). This dating is based on the comparative studies on pottery, chlorite and marble vessels, bronze objects and seals of Shahdad with the contemporaneous areas of southeastern Iran and neighboring regions such as Shahri Sokhta, Jiroft, Bampur, Tepe Yahya, Mundigak, Ummal Nar, Susa and the sites of the central Asia. Also, the dating of the second half of the third millennium BC was proposed for the artisans ‘area (area D), the residential areas excavated by Kaboli and, in general, the entire area of the city of Shahdad. In other words, the flourishing period of this city is the second half of the third millennium BC. Furthermore, the early 2nd millennium BC was proposed for the culture after the collapse of the urbanization of Shahdad (cemeteries B and C).ConclusionThe revision of Shahdad data yielded some new information. Shahdad had been inhabited for a long period from the middle third millennium BC to the early second millennium BC and it was flourished during the second half of the third millennium BC. By studying cultural materials found from Shahdad area, one can find cultural interactions of Shahdad with other regions. The impact of Shahdad on Central Asia through the Bronze and chlorite materials can be easily observed. Despite all the cultural interactions with all these regions, the local and regional cultural traditions dominated in Shahdad and it has all the characteristics of a city with local cultural character in 3rd millennium BC. In general, the similarity and harmony between the cultural materials of Shahdad and different parts of the Southwest Asia, from Mesopotamia and Southwest Iran to Central Asia, the Indus valley and the south of the Persian Gulf indicate the existence of a cultural interaction sphere in the west of Asia during the early and middle Bronze Age.