東京大学総合研究博物館

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

西秋研究室

Professor Yoshihiro Nishiaki

Tall-i Gap, Marv Dasht, Iran
Yoshihiro Nishiaki
The University of Tokyo

The excavations
On the basis of the successful results from the 1956 excavations at Tall-i Bakun A and B, albeit on a small
scale, the Tokyo University Iraq-Iran Archaeological Expedition conducted more extensive field
investigations in the Marv Dasht plain in 1959. Several mound sites near Tall-i Bakun, all belonging to theNeolithic to the Chalcolithic periods that the expedition targeted, were excavated in the spring of 1959. Tall-i
Gap is one of these sites; it was investigated under the direction of the late Professor Toshihiko Sono (Figs.
1, 2; Egami and Sono 1962; Sono 1967). It represents a group of prehistoric mounds situated about 13 km to
the southeast of Tall-i Bakun. It was already identified as a prehistoric site by L. Vanden Berghe duringsoundings conducted in the early 1950s. More thorough surveys, conducted by the Japanese team,
documented at least seven mounds, which were designated as Gap A to G (Fig. 3). Gap A was subjected tothe most intensive excavations (Fig. 4). It is a circular plan with a diameter of about 120 m and a height ofsome 5 m from the surrounding field. The excavations were conducted for about two months from April 20,
1959.
The excavation followed a 10 m by 10 m grid system. Two squares were fully excavated: Square GAI at thehighest part, and Square GAII at the southern foot of the mound. These squares were connected by a 3
m-wide and 10 m-long trench, GAT. Square GAI was extended 3 m-wide to the north (GAEI) and the east(GAEII). A number of mud-brick walled rectangular buildings were revealed in these squares, whichallowed for the definition of 17 architectural levels for the cultural deposits, which were approximately 6 mthick. However, deep excavations to the virgin soil were only conducted in GAT; in GAI, GAEI, and GAEII,
only the top three levels were excavated. The excavations of Square GAII were abandoned after the removalof the thick top soils, leaving the main cultural deposits untouched.
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Fig. 1 Map showing the location ofTall-i Gap and related sites in theMarv Dasht plain.

Fig. 2 Distant view of Tall-i Gap.

Fig. 3 Distribution of the sevenmounds at Tall-i Gap A (Egami andSono 1962).

Fig. 4 The Japanese excavation trenches at Tall-i Gap A.

Archaeological finds
In addition to domestic structures like ovens and bins made of clay, the architectural remains included
pottery kilns, demonstrating the local production of fine painted wares of the Bakun culture. Anotherinteresting discovery is a square structure made of mud-brick walls, which approximately had a 3 m side andwas filled with ashy deposits (Fig. 5). Although the excavators regarded it a "temple," this interpretation
remains to be verified with further investigations. The artefactual assemblages associated with thearchitectural remains consist of a full range of artifact categories expected for the Chalcolithic, including
pottery, flaked and ground stone artifacts, bone tools, and copper objects. The most abundant category ispottery (Fig. 4; Nishaki 2003; Miki 2013); detailed analyses established two main phases of pottery for thecultural sequence at this mound: Phase 1 (Levels 17 to 13) and Phase 2 (Levels 12 to 1). The excavators
noted a rather gradual transition over these phases, while a layer without standing architecture may haveexisted in-between (Level 12).

Fig. 5 Excavations of the "temple"
at Tall-i Gap A (Egami and Sono1962).

Contributions to Chalcolithic chronology
The radiocarbon dates available for this sequence are as follows.
Level 17: 5870±170 BP (Gak-197) and 5810±50 BP (IAAA-110031)
Level 6: 5540±120 BP (Gak-198)
Level 5b: 5670±50 BP (IAAA-110030)
The Gak series were obtained in the 1960s with a Beta counting dating system, while the IAAA series wereobtained with an AMS method for the charcoal samples stored at the University Museum, the University ofTokyo, under the JSPS-sponsored research program headed by the present author and Jean-Denis Vigne in2006 (see also Chapter for Tall-i Jari A). Despite the large difference in methods, the dates are more or lessconsistent with each other. On the basis of these results, as well as referring to the comparable data fromother sites, the cultural sequence at Tall-i Gap is estimated to span from about 4700 to 4300 cal BC.
The most important contribution of the Tall-i Gap excavations is the establishment of a chronology for themiddle parts of the Chalcolithic period in southwest Iran. This period is represented by the Bakun culture,
which has been conventionally divided into Early, Middle, and Late Bakun. The Tall-i Gap sequence
represents one of the best examples for the Middle Bakun, to which other sites in the Fars province arealways referenced (Fig. 6; Nishiaki et al. 2018). The meticulous stratigraphic records, to be much appreciatedfor the time of fieldwork, retain great potential for further research. A future study of the entire material
records, not only the pottery specimens, would make an important contribution to understanding the culturaldynamics over this important period of social change.* *The text is after Nishiaki 2020.

Fig. 6 Bakun pottery in situ fromTall-i Gap A (GPA. P65, Level 1)(Nishiaki 2003).

Further reading
Egami, N. and T. Sono (1962) Marv Dasht, Vol. II, The Excavations of Tall i-Gap, 1959. The Institute ofOriental Culture, The University of Tokyo.
Miki, T. (2013) The acceptance and development of Black on Buff warein the5th millennium BC ofSouthwest Iran: Through the observations of pottery from Tall-i Gap. Bulletin of Department ofArchaeology, The University of Tokyo 27: 51–78 (in Japanese).
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.
Sono, T. (1967) Recent excavations at Tepe Gap, Marv Dasht. In: Survey of Persian Art, edited by U. Pope,pp. 2940-2946. Asia Institute of Pahlavi University, Shiraz.
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