東京大学総合研究博物館

西秋研究室

Laboratory for Prehistoric Archaeology of West Asia, The University Museum, The University of Tokyo

Professor Yoshihiro Nishiaki

Halimejan Cemetery Sites, Alborz Mountains, North Iran
Yoshihiro Nishiaki
The University of Tokyo

Introduction
After the retirement of Professor Namio Egami, who directed a series of archaeological excavations in West
Asia as the director of the Tokyo University of Iraq-Iran Archaeological Expedition to West Asia, in 1965,
the expedition team spent a decade publishing the excavation results. After publishing a total of 15
excavation volumes in 1975, the team reorganized the research design under the direction of Professor Shinji
Fukai, with two major objectives: one was to continue research into the early farming village sites innorthern Mesopotamia, mostly in Iraq, and the second was art historian-related, aiming toward studying theeast-west cultural exchange during the ancient Silk Road period. Thus, the expedition team was titled theTokyo University Iran-Iraq Scientific Research Team. Reflecting the interest of Professor Fukai, theexpedition listed Iran first in this title. This renewed expedition team spent two seasons in Iran and Iraq, in
1976 and 1978. The archaeological sites investigated in Iran as well as historical monuments such as Taq-i
Bustan were included in art-historical studies (Fukai et al. 1985).
Archaeological research in Iran was devoted to ancient cemetery sites in the Gilan Province, whose
research potential was demonstrated by the 1960-1964 excavations (see Chapter for Dailaman sites). The
region chosen for the second stage of the excavations at this time was the Halimejan District, which issituated approximately 25 km west of the Dailaman Village (Fig. 1). It comprises a plateau hill that wasdeveloped along the right bank of the Sefid Rud River, which is incised by numerous gullies and wadis. The
ongoing destruction of archaeological sites due to treasure hunting, oil pipe line management, and road
constructions was considered when choosing the area for archaeological investigations. Two major cemeterycomplexes were excavated as follows.

Fig. 1 Map showing the location ofthe Halimejan District in Northeast
Iran.

Shahpir (1976)
The field investigations in the 1976 season, conducted between June 10 and July 31, were devoted to a site
reconnaissance survey and the excavations of any selected spots. The survey identified more than ten ancient
cemetery complexes in the region, all of which hinted at heavy looting. Among these, the site of Shahpir waschosen for excavation in this season (Fig. 2). Although two areas were excavated, Area I (52 square meters)and Area II (38 square meters), ancient tombs were discovered in Area II only. At least four tombs wererecovered, all of which showed a shaft-tomb structure with a horizontal passage and chamber. The bodies
were laid in an extended way, together with a number of funerary objects including metal spearheads andswords, pottery vessels, bone objects, and metal ornaments (Fig. 3). A preliminary interpretation of these
tombs indicated that they were from the Iron Age (Hori 1981).

Fig. 2 Distant view of the Shahpir
site.

Lame Zamin (1978)
This cemetery site was also discovered in the 1976 season, and is located about 3 km southwest fromSharpir. It is situated on the left bank of the Shahran Valley, which is a tributary that joins the right bank of
the Sefid Rud River. Two areas, Areas I and II, were selected for excavation, because of the destruction thathad been caused by road construction. Although Area I was found to have been almost fully looted by local
treasure hunters, Area II yielded 12 undisturbed tombs, all belonging to the Iron Age (Figs. 4 and 5). Careful
study revealed a series of distinct differences between the burial practices for adults and children. The six
adult burials showed a shaft tomb structure with a horizontal chamber/passage, while the six child burials
were all simple pit burials. Furthermore, the associated burial goods also showed notable differences among
the age grades and genders. Specific types of pottery vessels and different funerary goods were offered,depending on the age and gender of the dead. For instance, spindle whorls for weaving were found only inthe female burials, and stone beads and bone toy objects were solely found in the child burials. Theseobservations show the significance of the excavations at Halimejan in understanding the social complexity of
the Iron Age society of northeast Iran.**The text is after Nishiaki 2020.

Fig. 4 Excavations of Tomb 103 atLame Zamin (Fukai and Matsutani1982).

Fig. 5 Pottery excavated fromTomb 103 at Lame Zamin (Fukaiand Matsutani 1982).

Further reading
Fukai, S. and T. Matsutani, T. (1977) Preliminary Report of Survey and Soundings at Halimehjan, 1976.
Orient 13: 41-52.
Fukai, S. and T. Matsutani (1980) Halimehjan I: The Excavation at Shahpir, 1976. Tokyo: The Institute ofOriental Culture, The University of Tokyo.
Fukai, S. and T. Matsutani (1982) Halimehjan II: The Excavation at Lameh Zamin, 1978. Tokyo: The
Institute of Oriental Culture, The University of Tokyo.
Hori, A. (1981) Dailaman and Halimehjan: Re-examinations of their Chronology. Bulletin of the Ancient
Orient Museum 3: 43–62.
Matsutani, T. (1992) Three worked bone gaming pieces from Lameh Zamin, Gilan, Iran. Bulletin of theInstitute of Oriental Culture, The University of Tokyo 118: 127–148.
Nishiaki, Y. (2020) Halimejan cemetery sites. In: Iranian Archaeology, edited by K. Yamauchi, N.
Murakami and T. Kanai, pp. 28–29. Fuefuki: Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Teikyo
University.

Copyright © Yoshihiro Nishiaki. All Rights Reserved.
17 June 2020