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Winckelmann-Feier 2004

Am 02. 12. 2004 fand erstmals seit langer Zeit
wieder eine Winckelmann-Feier des Deutschen
Archa¨ologischen Instituts in der Residenz des
deutschen Botschafters in Teheran statt. Damit
knu¨pfen wir an eine Tradition an, die seit der
Gru¨ndung der Abteilung Teheran 1961 bestand
und bis 1982 fortdauerte. Die Winckelmann-Feier
erinnert an Johann Joachim Winckelmann, einen
der Gru¨ndervater der klassischen Archa¨ologie,
und findet anla¨sslich seines Geburtstags am
9. Dezember 1717 statt.

Der Anstoß zur Wiederaufnahme dieser Tradi-

tion ging vom deutschen Botschafter, Paul Freiherr

von Maltzahn, aus. Es war auch sein Vorschlag,
die Winckelmannf-Feier in den Ra¨umlichkeiten
der deutschen Residenz stattfinden zu lassen,
die einen festlichen Rahmen fu¨r diese Veranstal-
tung bietet.

Die Winckelmann-Feier soll auch in Zukunft

ein Schaufenster auf die Arbeiten deutscher
Forscher in Iran bieten. Zum Auftakt wurde mit
dem

diesja¨hrigen

Festvortrag

von

Barbara

Helwing die deutsch-iranischen Ausgrabungen
in Arisma¯n, der ersten Ausgrabung mit Beteili-
gung ausla¨ndischer Forscher seit 1979, vorge-
stellt.

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Early mining and metallurgy on the western Iranian Plateau:
First results of the Iranian – German archaeological
research at Arisma¯n, 2000–2004

By Barbara Helwing

The detection of metal is no doubt one of the cru-
cial steps in human history. Metal is a malleable
material that can easily be shaped into different
forms. Metal artifacts are flexible and tough.
Blades and working edges can be resharpened
continuously. And when eventually a metal tool
breaks, the object can be remelted and the mate-
rial recycled. Hence, metal enabled man for the
first time to produce tools and weapons with an
efficiency unknown until then.

Christian Jurgensen Thomsen was the first to

recognize the importance of the material metal
as early as the 1830’s. Based on the major mate-
rial used for the production of cutting tools, he
proposed a classification system for the archaeo-
logical collection of the Copenhagen Museum in
1836. It is, hence, to him that we owe the classic
division of human history into three major peri-
ods: the Stone, Bronze and Iron Age

1

.

More than one and a half centuries of archae-

ological research have passed since the days of
Thomsen. Cultures and civilizations have been
brought to light. Cities with palaces and temples
have been unearthed. Written documents have
been discovered, deciphered and read so that
regional histories could be written. Therefore, we
now possess a much better knowledge of prehis-
tory than Thomsen did in his days.

And yet, the invention of metalworking still

marks a critical point in culture history. As,
amongst many others, another pioneer of prehis-
toric research, Vere Gordon Childe, pointed out
in many of his writings

2

, the invention of metal

working is directly linked to the development of
complex societies with administration, labor divi-
sion and long distance trade networks, to name
only a few. Therefore, the origins of metallurgy
have long been – and still are – one of the top
priority research topics worldwide.

In Mesopotamia, often called the “cradle of civi-

lization”

3

or the “heartland of cities”

4

, the emer-

gence of a complex metallurgy is attested during
the 4

th

–3

rd

millennium BC. But where and how

did these early steps in the development of me-

tallurgy take place? Where were the sources that
provided an emerging industry with the necessary
raw materials? How was that material extracted,
processed and – last but not least – circulated?
And what were the repercussions of the develop-
ment of a professional metal industry on the com-
munities involved?

The lack of natural resources in the Mesopota-

mian heartland is a well-known fact

5

. Besides

many other resources, metal ores are absent in
the alluvial plain. Hence, the quest for raw mater-
ials has long been seen as one of the major trig-
gers for the development of long distance con-
tacts by trade or colonization. Metal ores are,
however, abundant in the mountain ranges that
surround the lowland to the Northeast and West.
Those mountain chains, the Taurus and Za¯gros
ranges, are part of the much larger Alpidic forma-
tion that stretches from the Alps in Europe to the
Himalayas in southern Asia. Extensive erosion,
enhanced by the location at the transition be-
tween arid and humid environments, volcanism
and continuous tectonic activity have helped here
to expose rich ore mineralizations. The subse-
quent weathering of the ore bodies has yielded
highly attractive colored copper ores such as ma-
lachite that can be detected easily. It is only nat-
ural that experiments with new materials should
have been carried out in close proximity to the
place where they originate.

Over the past decades, several research pro-

jects have been conducted that are aimed at the
understanding of early metallurgy in Greater Me-
sopotamia. Among them are the Mesopotamian
Metals Project conducted at the University of
Pennsylvania

6

, the restudy of the Susa objects

combined with scientific analysis at the Louvre
Museum

7

, The Early Metals in Mesopotamia pro-

ject based at Heidelberg

8

, different projects car-

ried out by the German Mining Museum (Bochum)
in the Levant

9

and on the Arabian Peninsula

10

,

geological and mining archaeological prospecting

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1

Thomsen 1837.

2

Childe 1944; Childe 1948 (1936).

3

Kramer 1967.

4

Adams 1981.

5

Algaze 1993.

6

Stech 1999.

7

Tallon 1987.

8

H. Hauptmann/Pernicka 2004.

9

Weisgerber/A. Hauptmann 1988; A. Hauptmann 2000.

10

Weisgerber 1980; Weisgerber 1981.

by the Max-Planck-Institute for Nuclear Physics
in Anatolia

11

and the excavations carried out by

the Oriental Institute Chicago at Kestel in Tur-
key

12

.

These projects approach the topic of metal-

lurgy from three different angles: The first is the
analysis of the archaeological metal objects prop-
er, distinguishing their basic metals and trace ele-
ments and details of their technology. A second
possibility is the documentation of ore deposits
and traces of mining activities combined with an
analysis of metallurgical finds. And as a third ap-
proach excavations are carried out in ancient
mines and miners’ settlements.

Thus far, this research has covered mainly Tur-

key, Iraq, the Levant and the Arabian Peninsula,
so that we are sufficiently well informed about ore
deposits, mines and artifacts from these areas.
However, one large and important area is almost
completely missing – Mesopotamia’s nearest
neighbor, Iran. The Iranian highlands possess
one of the largest concentrations of metal ore de-
posits both of copper and of silver and lead

13

,

and, thus, it is not surprising that these have
been exploited from early times onwards. Some
of the earliest metal artifacts known to date origi-
nate from Neolithic sites on the Iranian plateau.
Among the earliest are beads made from cold-
worked, rolled copper sheet found at Neolithic Ali
Kosh

14

and copper awls and copper prills from

Tepe Zagheh

15

and Choga Sefid. From the follow-

ing Chalcolithic period, metal artifacts were found
in Tappe Hesar

16

, Tappe Sialk

17

and Susa

18

. And

even metallurgical workshops are known, for ex-
ample from the early 4

th

millennium BC Tappe

Qabresta¯n

19

, where crucibles, moulds for casting,

and artifacts were excavated. All of these finds
are amongst the earliest of their kind. It seems
indeed that Iran, or more precisely the Iranian
highlands, played a crucial role in the develop-
ment of one of the most important technologies
of mankind.

Early steps into archaeometallurgical research

in the Iranian highlands were undertaken by some
of the pioneers of the discipline. An initial field ex-
pedition was led by Theodore Wertime in the
1960s to investigate ancient mining sites in the

central and southeastern part of the country

20

.

Copper mines were also documented in the vici-
nity of Vesˇna¯ve, close to Qom

21

, and in particular

the mining district of Nakhlak-Anarak was visited
by various researchers

22

. Analysis of the metal

finds from Susa was carried out in the 1970s by
Thierry Bertoud, who suggests that the raw mate-
rial most probably stems from a source on the
Iranian plateau, possibly from Anarak

23

. How-

ever, these early steps in research could not be
followed up by more detailed programs.

Answers to the questions on the Where and

How of early metallurgy are now being sought by
a new multi-disciplinary research project that fo-
cuses on metallurgical activities in the western
part of the Central Iranian Plateau. This project,
entitled Early Mining and Metallurgy on the
Central Iranian Plateau, is designed as a joint
project by the Iranian Cultural Heritage and Tour-
ism Organization (ICHTO), the German Archae-
ological Institute, the Geological Survey of Iran,
the German Mining Museum in Bochum and the
Department of Archaeometry of Freiberg Univer-
sity and is intended to cover all aspects of metal-
lurgy throughout prehistory.

The study area comprises the western part of

the Iranian Plateau, delimited by the Za¯gros Moun-
tains to the southwest and the Alborz Mountains to
the north. Work concentrates on a wide corridor
that extends in northwest-southeast direction,
north of the northernmost Zagros chain, the Karkas
(vulture) Mountains, and runs parallel with these.

Within this area, the best known archaeological

site is Tappe Sialk in Ka¯sˇa¯n, which was investi-
gated during the 1930s by a French mission di-
rected by Roman Ghirshman

24

and is again un-

der investigation under the direction of Dr. Malek
Shahmirzadi since 2001

25

. The prehistoric site of

Arisma¯n

26

, the focus of this lecture, is located about

60 km southeast of Ka¯sˇa¯n and Tappe Sialk.

The study program of the interdisciplinary re-

search project comprises a series of related lines
of inquiries. These are:

– geological prospections for metal ore deposits

in western Central Iran

– chemical analysis of the metal ores and their

geochemical “fingerprinting”

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11

Wagner/ztunalı 2000.

12

Yener et al. 1989;Yener/Vandiver 1993.

13

Momenzadeh 2004.

14

Smith 1969.

15

Negahban 1977; Sto¨llner et al. 2004, 601 Kat. No. 88.

16

Pigott 1989.

17

Ghirshman 1938; Smith 1968.

18

Tallon 1987.

19

Majidzadeh 1979.

20

Smith et al. 1967; Wertime 1967; Wertime 1968.

21

Holzer/Momenzadeh 1971.

22

Bazin/Hu¨bner 1969.

23

Berthoud et al. 1976; His analysis have been carried out
with methods that today are outdated and would urgently re-
quire a reconsideration.

24

Ghirshman 1938.

25

Malek Shahmirzadi 2002; Malek Shahmirzadi 2003; Malek
Shahmirzadi 2004.

26

Chegini et al. 2000;Chegini et al. 2004.

Barbara Helwing

426

– mineralogical analysis of the metal ores
– the investigation of ancient mining traces and

the excavation of exemplary Bronze Age cop-
per mines at Vesˇna¯ve near Qom

– archaeological surveying around the mining

and industrial sites in order to understand the
regional settlement system

– the exemplary excavation of a metal producing

center of industrial scale, dating to the 4

th

to

3

rd

millennium B.C. at Arisma¯n near Ka¯sˇa¯n,

close to the famous prehistoric site of Tappe
Sialk

– the geochemical analysis of copper slags and

of copper artifacts from these new excavations
in order to understand their composition and to
match them with the sources of raw materials

– palaeoenvironmental studies in order to recon-

struct the ancient vegetation cover and climate
as well as the impact of metallurgical activities
on the environment; metallurgical smelting re-
quires enormous amounts of fuel that had to
be procured in the vicinity

– archaeo- and anthropological investigations

into the transformation of society that must
have necessarily occurred in connection with
the development of industrial scale metallurgy

– tracing marketing places and trade routes to

better understand the regional settlement sys-
tem and the integration of the industrial centers
into a system of long distance exchange

By combining the results of these different lines
of investigation, it will become possible to provide
new insight into the complex interrelationship of
mining sites, metal processing workshops and
trading centers.

As part of the Research Project on Early

Mining and Metallurgy on the Central Iranian
Plateau, the Iranian Cultural Heritage and Tour-
ism Organization and the German Archaeological
Institute began archaeological excavations in
Arisma¯n in 2000.

The site (Fig. 1; 2) is located on the lowermost

slopes of the 4000 m high Karkas mountains, at
the transition from the slopes to the plain, at an
elevation of 1000 m asl. On the immediate fringe
of the Dasˇt-e Kavir the environment is arid with
about 500 mm of precipitation in normal years.

The site was discovered due to an enormous

accumulation of blackish slag fragments on the
surface, associated with prehistoric pottery that
can be compared to the period III–IV material
from Tappe Sialk. Traces of prehistoric occupation

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Fig. 1
Arisma¯n. View of the
site from the north,
Karkas mountains
are visible in the
background.

Early mining and metallurgy on the Western Iranian Plateau

427

extend over an area of more than one square
kilometer. Three major occupation areas could be
distinguished, designated Arisma¯n 1–3 subse-
quently. Occupation during the 5

th

to 3

rd

millennia

is attested in Arisma¯n 1 and 3, while Arisma¯n 2
yielded mainly grey polished ware of the later 2

nd

millennium. In Arisma¯n 1, cultural layers do not
exceed 1.60 m, making a regular shifting of the
settlement highly probable. Three huge slag
heaps of c. 25 m diameter form part of the site.

Excavations have been carried out in five

areas: in two of the slag heaps in areas A and D,
remains of late 4

th

to early 3

rd

millennium BC

(Sialk IV) metallurgical activities were found,
while the third, much smaller slag heap E yielded
no structural remains related to metallurgy. Area
B in the southern part of the site revealed Sialk
III (mid 4

th

millennium BC) pottery workshop

areas. A domestic quarter with integrated work-
shops contemporary to the slag heaps was un-
covered in the northern part of the site in area C.

In area B, four trenches of 9 by 9 m extension

have been excavated so far. The earliest settle-
ment layers that were reached consist of a do-
mestic house of the late Sialk III culture. This
house is constructed of pise´ and has a floor
made of beaten earth. The house is fully equipped
with ovens and kitchen facilities and some pottery
was found in situ next to the oven – apparently
some kitchen ware and quite archaic in appear-
ance. The surface of the base of one of the large
vessels is completely covered with finger impres-
sions – possibly a means to increase the overall
surface of the vessel.

At a later stage of Sialk III, this area was

turned into a professional pottery workshop area.
Pottery kilns were dug into the settlement re-
mains, and an ash layer corresponding to the kiln
phase yielded several hundreds of similar ves-
sels, probably belonging to one charge of a kiln.

Two different types of ovens have been found:

one type is represented by large ovens with a
key-hole shaped outline and a central pillar. This
key-hole shaped oven is embedded about 1 m
into the ground. The walls were plastered and
must have experienced high temperatures, since
the wall plaster is partly slagged. One single ves-
sel – a small stemmed jar with geometric painted
design – was found inside the kiln.

Concerning the kiln’s reconstruction

27

, it is

highly probable that flat clay slabs were placed in
a radial arrangement on top of the central pillar.
Fragments of flat clay slabs have been found.
They have a straight outer edge, but no right an-
gles, indicating that the original form was subrec-
tangular. Free space left between the clay slabs
would then have allowed the heat from the fire
below to enter the firing chamber. The upper part
of the kilns is not preserved, but must probably
be reconstructed as a vault. This may have been
a temporary construction that needed rebuilding
for every single firing.

The second type of pottery kiln is represented

by two examples in area B 35, kilns 23 and 26.
These kilns (Fig. 3) are approximately oval and
smaller, measuring about 90 cm in diameter.
They do not rely upon a central support, instead

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Fig. 2

Arisma¯n. Black slag

heap in area D.

Fig. 3

Arisma¯n.

Area B, pottery kilns

of Sialk III period

(mid 4

th

mill. BC).

27

A comprehensive discussion and reconstruction is proposed
by N. Boroffka/Becker 2004.

Barbara Helwing

428

the bottom is formed by a flat clay slab with holes
at regular intervals. This slab rests upon small
buttresses around the wall of the kiln.

Similar kilns have been found in Tappe Sialk in

layer III,1

28

. These kilns were fired from below

and the heat would enter the firing chamber
through the holes in the clay slab. According to
Abbas Alizadeh

29

, the upper part of the kiln must

again be reconstructed as a vault.

Pottery

30

was found in large quantities in a

layer of debris with pottery production wasters,
thus allowing for a general classification of the
material: vessels are mainly produced from a fine
mineral clay that turns mostly buff, or sometimes
greenish or reddish when fired. Brown paint is
applied to this light ground, mostly in geometric
patterns. Characteristic shapes comprise beakers
and chalices, mostly with a stemmed base, and
also large vessels. The large number of similar
vessels found in Arisma¯n area B is a good indica-
tor of the scale and professionality of pottery pro-
duction at the site. The firing of pottery took place
under close surveillance, which demonstrates the
high level of pyrotechnology – the use of fire to
produce high temperatures in order to alternate
the chemical properties of material –, as well as
an attentiveness that is no doubt one of the pre-
conditions for the development of a prospering
metal production.

Zoomorphic and anthropomorphic motifs also

appear on pottery, but less frequently. All kinds of
animals with horns – stags, goats, cattle and
deer – are depicted, as are waterfowl and, rarely,
humans. These depictions provide some clues
about the ancient environment at Arisman; the in-
habitants were clearly familiar with these animals.
According to the faunal analysis, wild hemiones
respectively onagers, wild gazelle, wild sheep
and goat, and wild camel are attested among the
bones. However, the Arisma¯n population relied
largely upon domesticated animals, mainly sheep
and goat and, to a much lesser extent, cattle

31

.

The Arisma¯n ceramic material can closely be
compared with the pottery from Tappe Sialk. In
both sites, it seems, the animals depicted belong
mostly to wild species that figure only rarely in
the faunal record.

The same layer of industrial wasters also

yielded many indicators of metallurgical activities:
Fragments of litharge – a residue of silver pro-
duction –, broken furnaces of the Qabresta¯n type
and moulds were found alongside tools from the

metal production, such as hammer and anvil
stones. These together with pieces of copper
slag, copper prills and occasional copper artifacts
indicate that a workshop for metalworking must
have been in the vicinity; however, it has not
been uncovered yet.

Silver and lead usually occur in one ore to-

gether. Producing silver therefore requires a re-
finement process that is called “cupellation”, in
which silver is separated from lead. Litharge is a
residue of this silver production and appears in
large quantities in Arisman

32

. Fortunately for the

purpose of scientific analysis, lead occurs in dif-
ferent isotope varieties, and the ratio of different
lead isotopes is characteristic for specific ore
sources. An analysis of lead isotope ratios can
therefore provide evidence for the provenience of
the ore. Such an analysis has been carried out on
litharge samples from Arisman and has proven
that the silver ore processed in Arisma¯n quite likely
originated from Nak

¯

lak-Anarak, about 200 km from

Arisma¯n.

Lead isotope analysis can also be carried out

on copper samples, since copper usually con-
tains small amounts of lead as well. The analy-
sis

33

shows that Nak

¯

lak/Anarak may also have

been the source for some of the Arisma¯n copper,
while several copper ore deposits in the vicinity
of Arisma¯n, in the Karkas mountains, could be
excluded as a possible source.

Evidence for late 4

th

millennium BC metallurgy

is more favorable. Located about half a kilometer
north of area B, the walk of a mere 500 m to area
A takes us through almost half a millennium.
Everything began in area A, at least this is true
for the Arisma¯n project. Area A is the location of
one of the three large slag heaps in Arisman,
about 25 m in diameter and more than 1 m in
height.

In area A, a modern irrigation channel cut

through the slag heap. During an international
conference on archaeometry held in Tehran in
1997, a busload of archaeologists went to visit
the site that Davoud Hassanalian, a local teacher
and trained geomorphologist, had reported shortly
before to ICHTO. On this occasion they stopped
at the large slag heap. A radiocarbon sample
was taken from the artificial section and could be
dated to the turn from the 4

th

to the 3

rd

millen-

nium BC.

This was indeed the starting point for the ar-

chaeological project at Arisman. During the first
season in 2000, a trench located right in the middle
of the slag heap was opened that struck upon a

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28

Ghirshman 1938.

29

Alizadeh 1985.

30

For a full study of the Sialk III pottery production, see R. Bo-
roffka/Parzinger in prep.

31

Pers. comm. Norbert Benecke; Benecke in prep.

32

Pernicka 2004 a; Pernicka 2004 b.

33

Pernicka 2004 a; Pernicka 2004 b.

Early mining and metallurgy on the Western Iranian Plateau

429

copper smelting furnace. The round furnace
stands atop and partly embedded into a mudbrick
platform. In the lower part is a deep, U-shaped
hollow. The upper walls of the kiln are plastered
with mud and strongly slagged. The lower part
does not show slagged walls; probably because
crucibles had been placed there to accommodate
the smelted copper. The front side of the furnace
is destroyed, apparently in order to extract the
smelted metal and the slag accumulated above.
This slag was then removed, resulting in the for-
mation of the enormous slag heap still visible on
the surface. The upper part of the furnace can
most likely be reconstructed as a vaulted struc-
ture. For every new smelting process, the furnace
walls had to be rebuilt. In total, this furnace was
rebuilt 33 times, so that 33 smelting processes
must have taken place in this kiln.

Further investigations on metallurgical activities

at Arisma¯n were aimed at the second large sla-
gheap, area D. Geomagnetic mapping in the cen-
tral part of Arisma¯n 1

34

revealed concentrations

of round spot magnetic anomalies on the eastern
part of the site, stretching north from the large
slagheap in area D. These point to the use of high
temperatures in restricted areas – possibly kilns.

Two trenches were opened in area D: the first

was located immediately in the centre of the slag-
heap in order to find another kiln, but this attempt
was in vain. Besides successive layers of slag,
no feature or structure related with metallurgical
processes was found. The second trench was
therefore placed in an area that had produced
seven magnetic anomalies – kilns?

Subsequent excavations in that area D82 led

to the discovery of large pits that had been dug
into the natural gypsum ground. The walls of
these pits were plastered; the fire inside the pits
must have been intense, as the plaster is fired to
a red color and the gypsum underground is partly
reddish. The fill of the pits contained slag frag-
ments, fragments of moulds and furnaces, a few
eroded pottery fragments of Sialk IV, but no com-
plete artifacts. The function of these pits is not
yet fully understood. At the beginning, we dis-
missed every idea that these pits might have
been related to the smelting of copper. They are
too large to obtain the temperatures necessary to
smelt copper. However, during the last season of
excavation we detected several – smaller – pits
that are, besides their size, very similar to these
large pits in area D and that are clearly linked to
the casting of copper artifacts.

The further processing of the metal smelted in

this industrial area next to the slag heaps took
place in small workshops located within the set-

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Fig. 4

Arisma¯n. Area C,

settlement of Sialk IV

period (c. 3000 BC).

34

Becker et al. in prep.

Barbara Helwing

430

tlement of the Sialk IV period in area C, which I
shall now introduce in detail. Area C (Fig. 4) con-
sists of large domestic houses with integrated
workshops that were in use over a considerable
stretch of time. The houses extend along both
sides of a street and are arranged in a fairly reg-
ular, urban layout.

At the end of the 2004 season, completed only

three weeks ago, a total of five trenches with a
surface area of almost 400 square meters has
been opened and the sequence of building
phases has been fully deconstructed. In an ex-
emplary way, the archaeological process of de-
construction in square C56 can be followed here:

After removing several fill levels and some floor

layers, installations belonging to the earlier build-
ing phases became visible, such as a vaulted
hearth and a plastered bin next to it. When the
bin was removed, two mould fragments and a
piece of litharge were found behind the wall lin-
ing. Further removal of these installations and of
floor layers allowed us to uncover the lowermost
phase above virgin soil, which yielded further in-
stallations: One is a pit with a plastered and burnt
wall lining filled with charcoal and crucible frag-
ments. Copper residues were also observed. This
pit most probably served as a small furnace for
the smelting and casting of the raw copper that
had been produced in the large furnaces discov-
ered under the slag heaps.

In another room, the lowermost floor held two

plastered pits next to fire platforms, and a piece
of litharge was found next to a platform. Some
other pits that had been dug later contained bur-
ials of children inside large vessels that were cov-
ered with a bowl.

Room fills contain slag, litharge (Fig. 5) and

mould fragments as well as tools for crushing and
grinding ore and slag, and metal artifacts (Fig. 6).
Among the more spectacular finds is a product of
the silver industry: a small silver pendant found
next to the animal style seal. This pendant is
composed of a flat silver sheet onto which small
compartments were added by soldering. These
are filled with stone and metal inlays – marble,
alabaster, hematite and fine gold sheets.

Comparisons for this spectacular silver pendant

are rare. A very simple pendant was found in a bur-
ial at Tappe Sialk

35

, and closely comparable is a

set of silver pendants from Susa

36

, all currently on

display in the German Mining Museum Bochum.

The connection with Susa already points to the

direction of relations that the Arisman site main-
tained during the 4

th

millennium B.C. Apparently,

the materials produced in Arisman were collected
and packed for trade in the workshops within the
site. For the packing, cylinder seals were used to
seal the packages, as is indicated by three cylinder
seals, two of which were found in one single small
room next to a large hearth platform, while the third
was discovered inside a wall of the same building.

Two of these seals are in a local Proto-Elamite

style. The third cylinder seal (Fig. 7) is cut from

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Fig. 5
Arisma¯n. Litharge
from settlement layers
of area C.

Fig. 6
Arisma¯n. Finds related
to metallurgy, Sialk III
and Sialk IV period.

Fig. 7
Arisma¯n. Cylinder
seal, Piedmont
Jamdat Nasr style
(c. 3000 BC).

35

Sto¨llner et al. 2004, 619 Kat. No. 134.

36

Sto¨llner et al. 2004, 656 Kat. No. 245.

Early mining and metallurgy on the Western Iranian Plateau

431

glazed steatite and shows a ladder motif ar-
ranged in a zigzag pattern. The spandrel is filled
with a schematic floral pattern, one leaf once,
and three leaves on the other side. This seal be-
longs to a large stylistic group of seals known as
the “Jemdet Nasr piedmont style” or the “glazed
steatite style”

37

. They are found foremost at sites

in the Za¯gros-Taurus foothills, hence the name,
and are characteristic of the turn of the 4

th

to the

3

rd

millennium BC.

The three seals discovered to date in Arisma¯n

clearly attest the application of seals in the site,
probably for the closing and signing of containers,
and proves that the Arisma¯n population was fa-
miliar with the significance and the codes of seal-
ing. Interestingly, no seal impressions have yet
come to light. In other contemporary sites, for ex-
ample in Sialk period IV

38

or Godin VI/V

39

and

others, the number of seal impressions usually
exceeds by far the number of original seals. One
possible reason for this may be that the sealed
containers were not used within the settlement,
but were sent away. The use of seals in Arisma¯n
can therefore be interpreted as an indicator for
the integration of the site into a larger system of
trading and exchange.

One trigger for the establishment of a long dis-

tance trade network during the 4

th

millennium

BC was the quest for prestigious items that cir-
culated among the elites of the world’s emerging
first states: the Uruk culture in the lowlands of
Mesopotamia and Susiana. The existence of such
a network is beyond doubt. However, current
theories

40

assume that such a network implied at

the same time a cultural dependency, or even a
political dominance of the lowland states over the
highland polities.

A look at the material culture of daily life, such

as pottery (Fig. 8) can, however, challenge this
theory. The material from Arisma¯n area C shares
only some general forms with the Late Uruk cul-
ture, the alleged exchange partner, but instead
fully matches the assemblages found in the Ker-
ma¯n region and in Fars, where the Proto-Elamite
culture emerged around that time. A region of
shared traditions of pottery manufacture in the
south Iranian highlands is evident here, mirroring
the distribution of the Proto-Elamite culture of
which the Arisma¯n area C occupation was a part.
The origin of the Proto-Elamite culture is so far
not fully understood due to the lack of archaeolo-
gical evidence for the early phases of its exis-
tence

41

. Most popular is the view that the Proto-

Elamite is a secondary state formation in the
windfall of the Mesopotamian Late Uruk culture.
The Arisma¯n material, however, indicates local
pottery traditions and transitional stages between
the mid 4

th

millennium late Sialk III and the Sialk

IV period

42

.

Due to the nature of Arisma¯n as a shifting set-

tlement it is not possible to investigate the transi-
tion between the two periods at that site itself. It
is therefore a fortunate opportunity that Dr. Malek
Shahmirzadi, director of the Sialk Reconsidera-
tion Project, has invited us to investigate these
questions on the very key site for the Central Ira-
nian Plateau – at Tappe Sialk proper. Tappe
Sialk has recently also yielded evidence for cop-
per and silver working

43

, and layers of the Sialk

III and the Sialk IV period exist in immediate stra-
tigraphic superposition. The next season that has
begun just this week will hopefully allow us to
document a sequence of relevant layers on the
southern mound.

Acknowledgements

The Arisman excavations as part of the research
project on Early Mining and Metallurgy on the
Central Iran Plateau have now completed their
fourth season. We gratefully acknowledge the
generous support of the head of ICHTO, Mr. Said
Mohammad Beheshti, and of the directors of the
diverse sections, Dr. Rasool Vatandoust, Dr. Mas-
soud Azarnoush and Mr. Jalil Golshan. Dr. Vatan-
doust together with Prof. Dr. Hermann Parzinger
act as directors of the research project. Excava-
tions at Arisma¯n were directed by Nasir Chegini
and Hamid Fahimi for ICHTO, and by Hermann

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Fig. 8

Arisma¯n. Nose-lug jar,

Sialk III period

(c. 3000 BC).

37

Pittman 1994.

38

Ghirshman 1938.

39

Weiss/Young 1975.

40

Algaze 1993.

41

Helwing 2004.

42

For a detailed discussion of the issue, Helwing 2005.

43

Pernicka 2004 b; Nezafati/Pernicka 2006 (1384).

Barbara Helwing

432

Parzinger and myself for the German Archaeolo-
gical Institute (DAI). The success of the project is
based upon the fruitful and trusting cooperation
of all members of the Iranian and the German
teams. We are greatly indebted to every single
one of them, who made working there such an
exciting and pleasant experience, and I wish to
express my sincere thanks to all.

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Barbara Helwing

434