Recent archaeological research in Iran - Prehistory to Iron Age

In spite of considerable hardships of the late 1970s and several years afterwards, archaeological research in Iran never completely halted. A few Iranian expeditions were at work, even during the difficult years of the war. Since the 1990s, nevertheless, archaeological research in Iran experienced a considerable reinvigoration. The amount of field expeditions has risen to more than 250 programs in the Iranian year 1384 (March 2005–March 2006), including a dozen foreign – Iranian joint missions since 2000. The Iranian Cultural Heritage Organization (ICHO; “Sazemān-e Mirās-e Farhangi-e Kesvar”), the successor of the National Organization for the Protection of the Ancient Monuments of Iran and the (“Sazemān-e melli-ye hefāzat-e āsār-e bāstāni-ye Iran”) since 1985, called Iranian Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization (hereafter: ICHTO) since 2004, supervises this ambitious program of research and conservation. Archaeological research is organized by one of the subdivisions of ICHTO, the Iranian Center for Archaeological Research (hereafter: ICAR). From the beginning, the re-awakening archaeological activity in Iran had a wide array of interests in all periods. New research and excavation programs on prehistoric, early historical, historical, as well as Islamic periods were planned, leading to an augmented scientific information and public awareness of Iran’s rich past. The first sites registered on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1979 were the ziqqurat of Coḡā Zanbil, the Achaemenid capital Persepolis, and the fabulous architectural complex of Meidān-e Emām in Esfahān. It took over 20 years for Tak t-e Soleimān and Soltāniye to follow. Pāsārgādae and Bam were added in 2004. Besides scientific research programs, the growing demands of a rapidly evolving economy and demographic expansion as well as the will to develop the tourism industry put many new constraints on cultural heritage management. Ancient sites tend to cluster in environmentally favorable areas, the same sought out by modern human settlements and industries. With an expanding economy, a growing energy demand and a population almost doubled since 1979, serious threats are imposed on ancient sites, necessitating numerous rescue works alongside regular research programs. The Iranian Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization (ICHTO) faces this challenge by organizing various programs, including the creation of a series of well-planned research projects in the form of “National Projects”. By the end of 2004, National Projects amounted close to 60, including archaeological, ethnographical, and architectural studies. In addition to Iranian archaeologists, foreign missions have again become active in Iran since 2000 within the framework of “Joint Missions”. In 2004, ICAR called out for international scientific support, for the first time, facing the construction of the Sivand Dam in Fars province which posed a direct threat to several archaeological sites in the Bolāḡi Valley. The first large scale rescue project ever launched in Iran is the salvage excavations in Bolāḡi Valley, immediately south of Pasargadae, the capital of Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Achaemenid empire. Iranian archaeology has thus gained a considerable momentum over the last decade, a fact that is also reflected in a series of symposia organized at a national level and, since 1997, also with international participation1. Simultaneously, a