The mystery of the important Sasanian cemetery in Ardabil

By exploring the “Oltan Qalasi” cemetery of Ardabil, archaeologists found signs of the Sassanids. These excavations also revealed that “coffin burial” was a common tradition in this cemetery.

According to ISNA, the graves of this cemetery were revealed following road construction operations on the communication axis between Parsabad and Sarband. On September 17, rescue and emergency excavations by archaeologists began with the permission of the Cultural Heritage Research Institute, as a result of which, the most important cemetery of the Sassanid period and the early Islamic period in the northwestern region of Iran and the Caucasus region was identified.

The excavations in the identified graves continued until November 18, 1401. Ruhollah Mohammadi – the head of the archeology department of the General Department of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts of Ardabil province – said in the middle of these excavations: several periods of burials have been discovered in this cemetery, among which are fetal and arched burials related to the Parthian period, burials of the early period. Islamic, which is probably related to the Seljuk period, and coffin burials related to the Islamic period.

According to archaeologists, the first findings from this cemetery, including pottery, war and spinning tools, were comparable to the Parthian period artifacts discovered in the tombs of “Moran” section of Garmi city. Therefore, the first hypothesis of the research team was that the “Oltan Qalasi” cemetery belongs to the Parthian period, but further studies showed that the cultural traditions ruling the Parthian period of the region continued until the Sassanid period.

As a result of the emergency exploration of this cemetery, more than 60 graves related to the Islamic and Sasanian periods have been identified, explored and documented. The studies of the obtained works show: Oltan Qalasi cemetery has been used by the residents of the historical city of Oltan for burying the dead for nearly 1300 years. Fetal and arched burials were common in this region in the Sassanid period, and in the Islamic period, we see a variety of pit graves, wooden coffins, and adobe graves.

Among the important discoveries of the emergency excavation in the Oltan Qalasi cemetery are glass containers whose shape and cut indicate the existence of advanced workshops with experienced glassmakers in this area 1700 years ago.

In general, the archeological findings in the Oltan Qalasi cemetery show that during the Sassanid period, the Moghan plain was part of the sphere of influence of the Sassanid government, but the cultural rituals and traditions of the Parthian period dominated the region, so that even with the arrival of Islam in Azerbaijan and the Moghan plain, some These traditions, including the coffin burial tradition, have been common.

During the Sassanid era, the Blasgan region (Dasht Moghan) was one of the border areas between the Khazars and the Sassanid government; Sometimes it was independent, sometimes it was subordinate to the Khazarian government, and sometimes it was subordinate to the Sassanid government. The discovery of Sasanian period coins from excavated graves is related to Hormuz II (Sasanian 302-309 AD). A kind of fetal and vaulted burial also shows that during the Sassanid era, the residents of Dasht Moghan did not follow Zoroastrianism and the burial traditions of the Parthian period were prevalent in the region.

“Oltan Qalasi” or “Oltan Castle” is located 12 kilometers west of Parsabad city on the banks of the Aras River, this area is one of the most important cities of the Sassanid and Islamic periods of Azerbaijan, especially the Mughan Plain, which is on the way of the “Caucasus Yuli” commercial and communication route (route Caucasus) or “El Yuli” is located and has played an important role in the cultural connections of the Caucasus with the inner regions of the Iranian plateau. Oltan Qalasi has a central citadel, a section of artisans, a moat, water supply channels and a cemetery, which covers an area of ​​more than 70 hectares. This work was registered in the list of national works of the country in 1378 with the number 2654 and since 2018 it has been approved by the Harim Council of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts.

During the construction of Moghan agriculture and industry plan, Oltan Qalasi site was identified for the first time in the archeological survey of the General Directorate of Archeology under the supervision of “Iraj Harirchian” and “Mahmoud Kordavani” in 1351. This archeology team made speculations in parts of the historical city and discovered works from the Parthian to Ilkhani period. Then, the national registration file of the area was prepared by “Ghafar Ghanbarzadeh” in 1378. After the Islamic revolution, the archaeological excavations of the site were conducted by Karim Alizadeh in three seasons in 2013, 2014, and 2014, and the fourth season of the archaeological excavations of the site was conducted by Abdul Reza Mohajeri-Najad in 2013 in order to determine the arena and harams. The archeology report of the three-season excavation by Alizadeh was printed and published by the Institute of Archeology.

According to the investigations carried out in historical texts as well as archeological studies, the historical city of Oltan Qalasi is the same historical city of Warthan, which is mentioned many times in Islamic books and is mentioned as an important commercial center and a magnificent city.