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

Tall-i Bakun A, Marv Dasht Plain, IranYoshihiro Nishiaki
The University of Tokyo

The research background
The first substantial archaeological investigations conducted by Japanese scientists in the Middle East took
place in 1956. They were conducted by the Tokyo University Iraq-Iran Archaeological Expedition, headedby the late Professor Namio Egami. The major aim of this expedition was to excavate the prehistoric moundsites of Telul eth-Thalathat, northern Iraq, from October 1956. On the way to Iraq, in September 1956, theexpedition members extended their travel to Iran to visit related prehistoric sites. Then, in Tehran, agenerous, unexpected offer was provided by the authorities of the Department of Antiquities and theNational Museum of Archaeology, who suggested that “if the Expedition, having come so far from Japan,
made excavations even for only a short period of time and brought a part of the excavated objects back toJapan, it would add to the cultural exchange and scientific cooperation between the two countries” (Egamiand Masuda 1959: v). The Expedition cordially accepted this generous offer, and carried out small-scale
excavations in the Marv Dasht plain, southwestern Iran.
This region was chosen due to a couple of reasons. First, it was one of the rare regions where early farming
village sites had been known in Iran at that time (Fig. 1). Extensive investigations by the University ofChicago team in 1932 and 1937, following the sounding by E. Herzfeld's work in 1928, at two mounds of
Tall-i Bakun A and B, had yielded rich archaeological records from the Chalcolithic period (Fig. 2).
Furthermore, ongoing research by the Belgian archaeologist L. Vanden Berghe in the early 1950s revealed
occurrences of even earlier village sites in the same regions. Second, the Marv Dasht plain accommodated
the famous Achaemenid capital site, Persepolis. Accordingly, the Japanese expedition, which comprised not
only prehistoric archaeologists but also art historians, thought it convenient to conduct additional research at
Achaemenid monuments, along with conducting excavations at prehistoric mounds.
PASARGADAE
TehranIRAN
kuh-i sruiRud-iSivand

Pulvarkuh-BashiSiahGorbazdjun

iz

NAQSH-I ROSTAM

Saadatabadaidan

PERSEPOLIS

Bakun ABakun B

Marv Dasht

Kushk-e Hezar

Rijabad Gapkuh-i

Mushkik
Jari A uhir
Jari Bahmsiah

A4-2
A4-1

at

Band Amir

ZarganNR
arfud

kuh-i bi2655

kuh-Arsanjan
2441

i bam

Kuru

EW

S

0Shiraz

10 km

Fig. 1 Map showing the location ofTall-i Bakun A and related sites inthe Marv Dasht plain.

Fig. 2 Distant view of Tall-i Bakun A.

The excavations
The sites selected for the Japanese excavations were the twin mounds of Tall-i Bakun, designated as A andB, which are approximately 150 m apart from each other. They are situated approximately 2.5 km south ofPersepolis, in the northwest part of the Marv Dasht plain. They lie at an altitude of approximately 1650 m
above sea level. Tall-i Bakun A comprises an oval mound of 150 m by 120 m, with a height of 4 to 5 m fromthe surrounding fields. The excavations were carried out for one week from September 25, 1956, under thedirection of Seiichi Masuda.
A trench of 3 m by 10 m was opened at the west-central part of the mound, in a north-south direction (Figs.
3, 4). The excavations reached about 2 m deep from the surface, but did not reach the virgin soil. Fourdistinct lithological layers were defined from the top. While the upper three layers (I to III) did not yield any
architectural remains, Layer IV revealed parts of a rectangular mud-brick wall. The University of Chicago's
excavations demonstrated the existence of a large scale building complex, containing numerous cellularrooms, each of which was apparently controlled by a certain administrative system, reflecting the emerging
complexity of the society at that time. However, because the excavation area in the Japanese field season wastoo small, the nature of the Level IV building was not interpreted closely.

Fig. 3 Overview of the 1956 Japanese trench of Tall-i Bakuin A.

Fig. 4 The 1956 excavations at Tall-iBakuin A.

Major archaeological finds
The recovered archaeological remains included plenty of painted wares (Nishiaki 2003; Fig. 3), known as
Bakun type, and other objects also from this period (Figs. 5, 6). Although the excavators reported theirsimilarities with the Level III pottery assemblage of the University of Chicago’ s excavations, later studies
pointed to more resemblances to earlier assemblages from Levels I and II.
The pottery collection stored at the University of Tokyo has recently been subjected to intensive re-analyses,
which have revealed features typical of the early part of the Late Bakun period (Nishiaki 2003; Miki 2015).
This estimate matches the radiocarbon chronology of the Bakun period. The latest fieldwork was conducted
by Abbas Alizadeh in 2002, who aimed to date the cultural deposits for the main occupation period of thismound through soundings. According to the three radiocarbon dates thus obtained, the main occupations at
this mound can be assigned to a period of ca. 4500 to 4300 cal. BC.* *The text is after Nishiaki 2020.

Fig. 5 Chalcolithic stone objects from Tall-i Bakuin A,1956.

Fig. 6 Bakun pottery in situ from Tall-i Bakun A(BKA. P1, Level IV) (Nishiaki 2003).

Further reading
Egami, N. and S. Masuda (1959) Marv Dasht, Vol. I, The Excavations of Tall i-Bakun, 1956. The Institute ofOriental Culture, The University of Tokyo.
Miki, T. (2015) Ceramic change during the Chalcolithic period of the Marv Dasht plain, Southwest Iran: theproduction technology of assemblages from Tall-i Bakun A and B. Orient 58(2): 139–155 (inJapanese).
Nishiaki, Y. (2003) Catalogue of Archaeological Materials in the Department of Archaeology of WesternAsia. Part 6: Prehistoric Pottery from the Marv Dasht Plain, Iran. The University Museum, The
University of Tokyo, Material Reports No. 51. Tokyo: The University Museum, The Universityof Tokyo.
Nishiaki, Y. (2020) Tall-i Bakun A, Tall-i Bakun B, Tall-i Jari A, Tall-i Jari B, Tall-i Gap, Tall-i Mushki. In:
Iranian Archaeology, edited by K. Yamauchi, N. Murakami and T. Kanai, pp. 1–22. Fuefuki:
Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Teikyo University.

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