Books by Mehrdad Malekzadeh
MALEKZADEH, MEHRDAD & ATA HASANPOUR, ZAHRA HASHEMI, 2017, “Fouilles (2005-2006) a Sangtarashan, L... more MALEKZADEH, MEHRDAD & ATA HASANPOUR, ZAHRA HASHEMI, 2017, “Fouilles (2005-2006) a Sangtarashan, Luristan, Iran”, Iranica Antiqua, vol. LII, pp. 61-158. (10.2143/IA.52.0.3269016).
Onomastics, a branch of historical linguistics, is of great significance for historical, historic... more Onomastics, a branch of historical linguistics, is of great significance for historical, historico-geographical, and anthropological studies. In the field of ancient Iranian studies, onomastics serves as a means to respond to a broad range of questions. For example, study of Median history and culture, suffering a lack of written evidence in Median language, has always been dependent on onomastic data recorded in non-Median sources. The present Study focuses on the etymology of Ἁρμαμίθρης, an originally Median personal name attested in the list of Assyrian kings by Ctesias of Cnidus, and attempts at explaining the presence of a Median name in that context, that may lead to a better understanding of the narrative history of Assyria and Media in ancient time.
Two authors from two different worlds and in two different eras recount a similar tale about a ro... more Two authors from two different worlds and in two different eras recount a similar tale about a role-playing “king-minister-thief” game of children happening in two divergent contexts; one is Herodotus of Halicarnassus in his Ἱστορίαι (I.114) and the other is Menhāj-al-Din Serāj Jowzjāni in his Ṭabaqāt-e Nāṣeri (al-ṭabaqa al-thāmina). What links these two stories (in fact two variants of the same tale) to each other? The present work attempts to respond this question.
585 BCE is the first volume of the series “Monographs on Median Studies”, which is put forward to... more 585 BCE is the first volume of the series “Monographs on Median Studies”, which is put forward to the audience interested in the ancient Iranian history and culture. This monograph is about the eclipse took place on the 28th May 585 BCE, which terminated the five-year war between the kingdoms of Media and Lydia. This astronomical event had a major impact on the destiny of the “Median Empire” and a significant influence on the political and cultural history of West Asia and Asia Minor.
Papers by Mehrdad Malekzadeh
Iranica Antiqua, 2022
The Haji Khan archaeological sites are located within the precinct of the Ibn Sina Petrochemical ... more The Haji Khan archaeological sites are located within the precinct of the Ibn Sina Petrochemical Company in the province of Hamadan, western Iran. A single season of excavations directed by Esmail Hemati Azandaryani was undertaken in 2017 and led to the discovery of a temple dating to the Median period. This temple, with its stepped lozenge plan, is very similar to, but larger than the Central Temple at Tepe Nush-i Jan near Malayer.
Uchenye - nasledniki prorokov. Sbornik statej k 80-letiju M. B. Piotrovskogo, 2024
A survey of sources and researched conducted at Narin-kale of Meibod, the very interesting and un... more A survey of sources and researched conducted at Narin-kale of Meibod, the very interesting and understudied fortress near Yazd
مجله پژوهش های باستان شناسی ایران, 2024
Qareh Tepe in Sagzabad is the only Iron Age site in the Qazvin Plain that has been extensively ex... more Qareh Tepe in Sagzabad is the only Iron Age site in the Qazvin Plain that has been extensively excavated. Unfortunately, due to the destruction of the upper layers of this mound, the information from the end of the second and first millennia BC of the area is insufficient. A new cemetery, in the east of Qareh Tepe, was found in the archeological excavations during 2016. The graves in this cemetery belonged to the first half of the first millennium and the end of the second millennium BC. Since cemeteries are valuable archaeological contexts to study various social aspects, the finds from this new cemetery could provide valuable information on the social structure of the resident society in the area during the timeframe mentioned. According to the existing theoretical models about social evolution, the present study aimed to evaluate the archaeological findings and compare them with the information obtained from the Neo-Assyrian accounts. The results revealed the existence of a hierarchical society with the transmission of hereditary social status at least since the end of the second millennium BC in the area. Furthermore, the finds from the first half of the first millennium BC indicated evidence of the separation of the cemetery space, emphasis on genealogy, population growth, sizeable mudbrick buildings, extensive trans-regional relations, and the intensification of metal production in the area. These findings indicated the increasing social complexities at the beginning of the first millennium BC. In addition, in their accounts, some Neo-Assyrian kings mentioned a place called "Bit-Kapsi"; this place was probably in the Qazvin Plain. "Bit-Kapsi" was a kind of regional polity or chiefdom during the 8th century BC in the area. The archaeological evidence indicates increasing social complexities at the beginning of the first millennium BC in the area, which could be associated with the emergence of "Bit-Kapsi".
Preliminary Report of the First Season of Excavation at the Achaemenid Period (Iron Age IV) Cemetery in Mersin, Semnan Province, Iran
Iran
This article presents the results of the first excavation season of the Mersin cemetery, in the S... more This article presents the results of the first excavation season of the Mersin cemetery, in the Semnan region, Iran. The cemetery was discovered through surface reconnaissance for the documentation of the area’s archaeological heritage before the construction of the Finesk Dam. Rescue excavations were then conducted in 2014 in three distinct areas of the necropolis. Particularly interesting were results were obtained from trench 3 in which 15 tombs dating to the Achaemenid period were found. This discovery is of particular importance because it reveals interesting information about the Late Iron Age in the area, which was virtually unknown prior to these investigations.
Journal of Archaeological Studies , 2022
Until recently, the culture of the late Iron Age in the central Iranian Plateau had only been ide... more Until recently, the culture of the late Iron Age in the central Iranian Plateau had only been identified at the southern mound of Sialk. In this study, a newly discovered site, called Qolam Tepe, is introduced in the foothills of western Kashan at a very close distance to Sialk. None of the surface findings of Qolam Tepe show any era other than the Iron Age III, or there is no Sialk VI, so we have ascertained one of the satellite sites of Sialk VI. Since the Qolam Tepe is exclusively a single-period site (Iron III), given the apparent fact that the decorative bricks found in Qolam Tepe in every aspect match the decorative bricks of "la Grande Construction" of Sialk. They can be attributed to a single cultural period and are surveyed as a single chronological horizon, thus again leading to the attribution of the "la Grande Construction" of Sialk to the end of the Iron Age. Surface survey finds from this site indicate that it is contemporaneous to the Iron Age, layers 5 and 6 of the southern mound of Sialk (and Cemeteries A and B).
Archaeometry, 2015
During the excavations of the graveyard at the site of Deh Dumen in south-western Iran, 15 graves... more During the excavations of the graveyard at the site of Deh Dumen in south-western Iran, 15 graves from the Early/Middle Bronze Age were uncovered that contained a variety of metallic artefacts. This paper reports on the analysis of nine metal artefacts, including eight broken vessels and a decorative strip that covered the handle of a dagger. The ICP-MS results showed that the bodies of the vessels are made of tin bronze alloy with variable amounts of tin, while the internal piece of the base of one vessel is made from an arsenical copper alloy. Further, the metallic strip is a thin sheet manufactured with partially pure silver. Microanalytical and microstructural information yielded by SEM-EDS revealed elongated Cu-S inclusions and lead globules as various phases formed in bronze solid solution. This study presents some information about the transition from arsenical copper to bronze metallurgy in the third millennium BC in south-western Iran.
مطالعات فلزگری کهن در محوطه سنگتراشان لرستان، هزاره اول ق.م
Iranica Antiqua
In this paper, an analysis is presented of some bronze vessels from recent excavations at the fir... more In this paper, an analysis is presented of some bronze vessels from recent excavations at the first millennium BC site of Sangtarashan in eastern Luristan, Iran, according to metallography (OM), ICP-OES and SEM-EDS methods to identify alloying as well as manufacturing processes. This study provides new evidence for a better understanding of the bronze archaeometallurgy during the Iron Age in Iran. It concludes that the artifacts contain homogenous and single phase tin bronze (Cu-Sn) alloy. The Sn content in the artifacts also allowed to apply mechanical operations on the vessels without causing brittleness. Apart from tin, other elements that are classified as trace elements were present, such as zinc, iron, lead, phosphorus and arsenic. Metallographic observations indicated that the microstructures of samples are typical worked grains, composed by the mechanical process for shaping vessels throughout a cycle of cold working and annealing.
Sangtarashan is an archaeological site located in the southern part of Luristan province in weste... more Sangtarashan is an archaeological site located in the southern part of Luristan province in western Iran . During the renovation of water pipes, workers uncovered a dozen metallic objects known as 'Luristan bronzes' which had been gathered together and buried underground . The number of objects scattered in the topsoil suggested that the site might have been a cemetery, a type of site often found in Luristan . However, subsequent excavation did not produce any evidence for graves although the excavation led to the discovery of several other sets of metallic objects. Archaeological investigations began in 2005 directed by M . Malekzadeh and his assistant A . Hasanpour . To date hundreds of metal objects including weapons, vessels, jewellery, figurines, cylinder seals, etc. associated with a large circular architectural structure have been recovered from six seasons of excavation (2005 to 2011). These objects, which are generally dated to the Iron Age, were brought to the building and subsequently buried for an unknown reason . Possible explanations include the site being a sanctuary, a metal reserve or some form of treasury .
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Books by Mehrdad Malekzadeh
Papers by Mehrdad Malekzadeh