What are archaeologists doing on Khyber Hill?

Archaeological excavations in Khyber Castle in Ravansar city of Kermanshah province for the first time report the existence of camel remains in the historical period in the western region of Zagros.

Dr. Sajjad Ali Beigi in a one-day archeology seminar “History and Culture of Kermanshah” at Razi University, called the ninth to half of the sixth century BC one of the crucial periods in the history of Iran and said: Since this period It was the first trans-regional government – the Medes – as well as the formation of the foundations of the first large Persian empire, so it is very important for archaeologists and historians to know this period.

He continued: “We have relatively better and very important information about the situation of this period, which is called the Iron Age, in the east of Kermanshah province due to archeological excavations in Godin Kangavar hill, and this region is known as the western part of the Central Zagros.” However, due to the lack of sufficient studies in the west of the Central Zagros, this period and related archaeological issues are still little known.

Emphasizing that this crucial period is very important in the history of cultural, social, and political developments in the West Asian region, the archaeologist said: To better understand this period and to understand its cultural, social, political and economic developments and complexities, an option There is a place called Khyber Hill that by conducting scientific archeological excavations we can hope to get valuable information from this period.

He stated that the hill of Khyber or Malek Shah in the south of Ravansar city and at a distance of approximately 50 km from the city of Kermanshah is one of the places that have placed relics from this period in his heart: “Erich Schmidt, American archaeologist, In 1937, during the project “Flying over the ancient cities of Iran”, he visited the ancient site of Khyber Ravansar hill for the first time and then published two interesting photos of this area, which clearly show the importance and greatness of this area. It is historical.

Ali Beigi continued: “According to the photos taken by this American archaeologist, there was a very wide and deep moat around this area, the width of which varied from 40 to 100 meters in different parts, and according to its condition, there are probably three.” Meters deep and by pouring water into the mirage and spring located at the foot of the hill inside it, they could protect this ditch and the fortifications around it – the fortress and the city – against the enemies.

He added: “The key point in Schmidt’s report is that he mentions Khyber Hill as one of the cities built in Iran during the time of the Assyrians, and this was a clue to draw archaeologists to this hill.”

The archaeologist noted: A few months later, “Sir Orl Stein”, a British archaeologist of Hungarian origin, continued his archaeological research in the western region of Khyber, and according to his report, he dug two boreholes there, in both of which. Gomaneh only encounters remnants of the mud and rubble of large walls and leaves Khyber Hills due to lack of time.

He continued: This British archaeologist in his report from Khyber Ravansar hill points out that in the early 1930s, some Jewish antiques traders in Kermanshah Bazaar dug two large pits at the top of this ancient hill.

Ali Beigi stated: In 1347, three Iranian archaeologists, namely Mr. Ali Akbar Sarafraz, Dr. Mohammad Rahim Sarraf and Ismail (Ehsan) Yaghmaei, conducted extensive studies in Kermanshah province and identified Khyber Hill as an important ancient monument. And this caused a year later this area with the number 854 to be included in the list of national monuments of Iran.

He added: In 1998, Dr. Abbas, a translator from other Iranian archaeologists, visited this ancient site and mentioned it as the most key site in the Kuzran plain.

The Kermanshahi archaeologist, stating that Khyber Hill is about 20 hectares in area and about 48 meters high, said: “The main part of this hill is the ancient remains that are located on a natural bed and despite two seasons of archeological excavations Once done, there are still many questions about the site.

He continued his speech by referring to the latest archaeological field research conducted in this area and said: in 1397, in line with the joint cooperation between Razi University, Copenhagen University and the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Research Institute, archaeological studies and excavations in the area began. شد. The first step of this research was to conduct an archaeogeophysical study conducted by Dr. Kourosh Mohammadkhani, a faculty member of Shahid Beheshti University. A field was held in the yard.

Ali Beigi reminded: “Purposeful studies and methodical sampling performed in Khyber hill showed how extensive the ancient settlement in Khyber hill in each period is probably and where the remains of each period are buried.” According to these achievements, about two months later, in September and October 1397, we began our archaeological excavations by digging two trenches in an area of ​​about 200 meters at the top of the site and where archaeogeophysical surveys were conducted.

He continued: “At the beginning of the excavations, the remains of two piers were discovered, which were made of mud bricks and mortar, as well as stone and gypsum mortar, and the mortars used showed that the old bricks had been reused in a secondary texture.” . Investigations revealed that the two towers, which are 9 meters apart, are probably the former part of a very large Parthian building.

The archaeologist noted: “In order to know where the bricks used in these piers were made, surveys were carried out around the site and 700 meters southwest of the hill, the remains of an area were discovered that showed that the bricks were made there.” اند.

He pointed to the continuation of excavations and the discovery of older layers in the Khyber hill and said: “Then we realized that we are facing an older stage of the Parthian period in this area and the buildings built in the Parthian period on this hill, in Located on the remains of other buildings from the Parthian period.

Ali Beigi, stating that the excavations in Khyber Hill continued in 2009, said: The second chapter of archaeological research in this area was conducted in 2009 and two boreholes were excavated for stratigraphy on the southern slope of the hill. A large amount of remains of brick debris of a large structure could be seen during the excavation of different layers, one of which was related to the Achaemenid period and one layer 1.5 meters wide belonged to the Parthian period, which was added to strengthen the wall. .

He continued: “In the excavation of the second borehole on the southern slope of the hill, the remains of a very strong brick wall 5 meters wide and 2.40 meters high were revealed, which shows that we are facing a defensive wall and strong fortifications.”

The archaeologist stated: In front of the wall, pottery was probably found from the Achaemenid period and the Iron Age, which showed that this wall – the excavation of which has not been completed – is at least pre-Parthian and most likely related to Iron Age. Digging small boreholes along the wall further identified the extension of the wall and outside the area of ​​borehole 2 and showed that this wall, like the belt of this hill, which was once the remains of a fortress-city. With a large moat around the area, access to the fort was very limited.

He said that important archeological finds have been obtained from Khyber Hill so far. There are some, some of which have cuneiform inscriptions, and perhaps most importantly, a piece of clay inscribed in cuneiform, examples of which have been found for the second time in western Iran.

The archaeologist also referred to the discovery of animal remains in the Khyber Hills and said: “The study of animal remains in the area shows that several species have been hunted and hunted here and a significant part has been bred by the locals.” Special studies conducted by Dr. Hossein Davoodi show that most of the animal remains discovered belong to cattle and sheep, and among the studied remains, part of the remains of a camel skeleton was obtained, which is probably the first time that in an area. In the west of Zagros, camel remains are discovered and this finding will be interesting to understand the condition of vegetation and animals and the climatic situation of the region in ancient times.

According to the archaeologist, based on the archaeological study of botanists, the existence of evidence of charcoal has helped to reconstruct part of the landscape of the region, and so far the remains of charcoal of pistachio (coriander) and almond trees have been identified.

The one-day archeology seminar “History and Culture of Kermanshah” was hosted by Razi University in cooperation with Biston World Heritage Sites, Anahita National Temple Base, Razi University, Iran Archaeological Association (Kermanshah Branch) and Kermanshah General Directorate of Cultural Heritage.