# Kul Tepe Jolfa

Kul Tepe Jolfa (Gargar Tepesi) (Kul Tapeh) is an ancient archaeological site in the Jolfa County of Iran, located in the city of Hadishahr, about 10 km south from the Araxes River.
It dates to Chalcolithic period (5000–4500 BC), and was discovered in 1968. Occupation continues into the late Bronze Age. Pottery sherds have also been recovered from the Bronze Age and Urartian periods.

## Description

Kul Tepe is a multi-period tell about 6 ha in extent, and 19 m high. It is located 967 m above sea level.
About 50km away is the related site of Kultepe, Azerbaijan. In Iran downstream the Araxes river, two additional sites from the same period have also recently been excavated, Kohne Pasgah and Kohne Tepesi.
At Kul Tepe Jolfa, material was found from the Dalma culture period (5000–4500 BC), and then following to the Pisdeli period, Chaff-Faced Ware horizons, and Kura–Araxes I and II periods. This is the Early Trans-Caucasian or Kura–Araxes culture, which spread through the Caucasus and the Urmia Basin around 3500 BC.
Later, the Middle and Late Bronze Age (Urmia ware), and Iron and Urartian/Achaemenid periods are also attested.
Dava Goz is another related site in the area that was recently excavated. It is located about 5km north of Dizaj Diz, Iran. This is a small and very old site that begins in the Late Neolithic/Transitional Chalcolithic period, similar to Hajji Firuz Tepe; it may have started c. 6000 BC.
Chaff-faced and chaff-tempered pottery with combed surfaces is a typical Late Chalcolithic pottery of Southern Azerbaijan. It is found in Kultepe, Azerbaijan and elsewhere in the Nakhichevan region, and in the Lake Urmia region of north-western Iran. But it is also common in other areas of the Middle East, such as in northern Syria and Mesopotamia. It is very well attested at Amuq.
According to Akbar Abedi,
   "To sum up, the emerging picture suggests that the Chaff-Faced Ware system, whose focus was the highlands, was progressively challenged during the 4th millennium in the north as in the south, by the Kura––Araxes and Uruk expansions, respectively. After a period of coexistence with both, the Chaff-Faced Ware culture was superseded in the highlands by the Kura-Araxes phenomenon, whose driving forces probably had some decisive advantage over its regional neighbours: judging by the importance of metallurgy and mining activities in the Kura-Araxes world, this advantage could have been technological."

## Relative chronology

vteChronology of the Neolithic period :
Pre-Pottery Neolithic   Pottery Neolithic :
BC
Europe
Egypt
Syria Levant
Anatolia
Khabur
Sinjar Mountains Assyria
Middle Tigris
Low Mesopotamia
Iran (Khuzistan)
Iran
Indus/ India
China
11000
Early Pottery (18,000 BC)
10000
Pre-Pottery Neolithic A Gesher Mureybet (10,500 BC)
9000
Jericho Tell Abu Hureyra
8000
Pre-Pottery Neolithic B Jericho Tell Aswad
Göbekli Tepe Çayönü Aşıklı Höyük
Initial Neolithic (Pottery) Nanzhuangtou (8500–8000 BC)
7000
Egyptian Neolithic Nabta Playa (7500 BC)
Çatalhöyük (7500–5500) Hacilar (7000 BC)
Tell Sabi Abyad Bouqras
Jarmo
Ganj Dareh Chia Jani Ali Kosh
Mehrgarh I
6500
Neolithic Europe Franchthi Sesklo
Pre-Pottery Neolithic C ('Ain Ghazal)
Pottery Neolithic Tell Sabi Abyad Bouqras
Pottery Neolithic Jarmo
Chogha Bonut
Teppe Zagheh
Pottery Neolithic Peiligang (7000–5000 BC)
6000
Pottery Neolithic Sesklo Dimini
Pottery Neolithic Yarmukian (Sha'ar HaGolan)
Pottery Neolithic Ubaid 0 (Tell el-'Oueili)
Pottery Neolithic Chogha Mish
Pottery Neolithic Sang-i Chakmak
Pottery Neolithic Lahuradewa Mehrgarh II Mehrgarh III
5600
Faiyum A
Amuq A
Halaf Halaf-Ubaid
Umm Dabaghiya
Samarra (6000–4800 BC)
Tepe Muhammad Djafar
Tepe Sialk
5200
Linear Pottery culture (5500–4500 BC)
Amuq B
Hacilar Mersin 24–22  
Hassuna
Ubaid 1 (Eridu 19–15) Ubaid 2 (Hadji Muhammed) (Eridu 14–12)
Susiana A
Yarim Tepe Hajji Firuz Tepe
4800
Pottery Neolithic Merimde
Amuq C
Hacilar Mersin 22–20
Hassuna Late Gawra 20
Tepe Sabz
Kul Tepe Jolfa
4500
Amuq D
Gian Hasan Mersin 19–17
Ubaid 3
Ubaid 3 (Gawra) 19–18
Ubaid 3
Khazineh Susiana B
3800
Badarian Naqada
Ubaid 4
Succeeded by: Historical Ancient Near East :