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Sedighian H, Farjami M. (2024). An Analysis of Pottery from the 11th to the 14th Centuries in the Historical Area of the Ancient City of Belqeis or Esfarayen. Parseh J Archaeol Stud. 8(28), 329-354. doi:10.22034/PJAS.8.28.329
URL: http://journal.richt.ir/mbp/article-1-907-en.html

Abstract
Belqeis site or Old Esfarayen is considered one of the important urban centers in the Islamic era and in the North Khorasan province. Based on historical sources and archaeological excavations, this city has been inhabited since the early Islamic centuries until the Safavid period. So far, many books and articles have been published about this city and some of its archaeological evidence; But parts of its findings have not been published yet. Pottery from the 11th to the 14th century is among the archeological findings of this site, which have not been introduced and investigated in any independent research. These works include various decorative groups, some of which are less known. These factors show the necessity of conducting independent research in this field. The current research was based on two essential and main questions, which are as follows: How many groups were the pottery from the 11th to 14th centuries, what decorative features do they have, and which regions are they comparable to? What are the production centers of this pottery? According to these questions, the main goal of the current research is to investigate, analyze, and compare the pottery of the 11th to 14th centuries in the vicinity of the Belqeis site and to identify their possible production center or centers. The descriptive-analytical method was used to conduct the present research and the method of collecting information is based on field and library studies. As a result of the present research, various types of unglazed and glazed pottery from the 11th to 14th centuries of the area were investigated, described, and compared. In the meantime, some decorative techniques such as drop-drop glazing were also presented in the research for the first time. Much of the studied pottery was probably produced on the site itself, whose production evidence was also shown in the article. Still, some pottery, such as lusterware and celadon, was probably exported to this city from other centers such as Jurjan, Jiroft, Kashan and China.
Keywords: Pottery, Esfarayen, Belqeis Site, 11th to 14th Century, Islamic Era.

Introduction
Esfarayen is one of the ancient cities of North Khorasan province, which has been subject to calamities, looting, and attacks many times throughout history. Historians have called Esfarayen the border of Nishapur or Jurjan. Most of the transformations of this city are related to the 9 to 11 centuries; However, in the period of 12th and 13th centuries, it faced decline and was attacked twice by the Ghoz and then by the Mongols. In the 14 century and with the establishment of Sarbedars rule in the region, the city became relatively prosperous for a while, and this process continued until the Safavid period. According to these cases, it is clear that the life of the ancient city of Esfarayen continued continuously from the beginning of Islam to the Safavid period; This is despite the fact that our awareness regarding the archaeological findings of this city, especially its pottery, includes most of the early Islamic centuries. On the other hand, our knowledge about the pottery of the Islamic era of Greater Khorasan also includes the periods before the Mongol attack and after the Timurids came to power; While our knowledge about the pottery of the 13-14 centuries in the region is relatively small. Considering that the social life of the city of Esfarayen spanned the entire 11th to 14th centuries, it was necessary to investigate the pottery of this period in independent research. A subject that has not been independently addressed in any research so far. According to these cases, the current research is based on two essential and main questions, which are as follows: How many groups were the pottery from the 11th to 14th centuries, what decorative features do they have and which regions are they comparable to? What are the production centers of this pottery? According to these questions, the main goal of the current research is to investigate, analyze, and compare the pottery of the 11th to 14th centuries at the Belqeis site and identify their possible production center or centers.
Descriptive-analytical method was used to conduct the present research and the method of collecting information is based on field and library studies. Based on this, the pottery studied in this article is related to the archaeological excavations of the third and fourth seasons of the Belqeis site. After the initial documentation and description of these pottery, they have been classified and their comparative study with other sites has been done.

Discussion
In the present study, only the pottery was examined and studied, which included the 11th to 14th centuries according to the comparative dates. These potteries were divided into two groups, unglazed and glazed, and each group was examined separately. The unglazed pottery of the area has a clay paste in the color range of pea, red, green, and black, and various motifs are used on some pieces. Some unglazed pottery from the area, such as red paste samples, probably from Jurjan or Jiroft, were exported to this area. But other decorative pottery, such as molded and stamped samples, were produced in the area itself.
The glazed pottery of the area also has various clay pastes, frit-ware, and porcelain. The single-colored glazed examples of the area generally have a frit paste, and most of them are turquoise-green in color. Most of these production pieces were probably from the Belqis site. Among the single-colored glazed pottery of the area, scattered pieces of Celadon pottery were also identified, which imported from China in the 14th century. Pottery with the underglaze painting technique has a lot of variety and is generally frit-ware. Some of this pottery, such as the blue and white samples, was probably the production of the area itself, but the pottery, such as the Silhouette and Sultanabad samples, was exported to this area from other centers such as Jurjan, Nishapur, and Kashan. have been Lusterware pottery, which all belong to the 13th century, are exported from other regions such as Jurjan or Kashan.
It should be noted that in the excavations of the site, in addition to the pottery kiln, many slags were also found inside the kiln and its surrounding areas. Among the evidence of pottery production in the area, we can mention the following: scattered pieces of clay molds, three, four, or multi-faceted clay stamps, and many pieces of clay balls that sometimes have glazes on them. It can be seen, many pieces of pottery tripods, clay chines, unglazed or glazed pottery, deformed or stuck together, crudely carved pottery, and objects Cone-shaped pottery that was obtained along with other findings related to pottery production.
According to the existence of this solid evidence as well as petrographic studies conducted on some terracotta pieces, it can be assumed that many of the studied terracotta pieces were produced in the area itself; But some pieces, such as examples of lusterware, Celadon, Sultanabad, and some painted red paste pottery, were imported from other centers such as Jurjan, Nishapur, Jiroft, Kashan, and China.

Conclusion
The present research was carried out with the aim of examining, comparing, and dating the pottery of the 11th to 14th centuries of the Belqeis site and also identifying the possible centers or centers of their production. As a result of the present research, various types of unglazed pottery of this period were investigated, analyzed, and compared. As an example, pottery with drop glaze decoration was introduced and it was checked that this decorative method was used in combination with other motifs on the unglazed pottery of the area. Due to the fact that in addition to unglazed pottery, evidence of pottery production was also obtained in the excavations of the area, it can be said that most of the unglazed samples were probably produced in the area itself; But pottery such as unglazed embossed red paste with stumpy decoration and sphero-conical vessel pieces were probably exported to this area from the two centers of Jurjan and Jiroft. Because the production evidence of this pottery was obtained in these two centers and the form and patterns of the pottery in the area are somewhat similar to the production samples of these two centers.
Many of the glazed pottery of the middle Islamic ages of the area, despite the great variety, were probably produced in the area itself; As an example, we can refer to the single-color turquoise glazed pottery of ferritic paste, the examples of single-color oil-lamps of frit-ware, and the blue and white pottery with a striped pattern. Apart from these cases, in the excavations of the area, scattered fragments of other pottery groups of this time period were found, which were probably imported from other centers due to less dispersion and lack of identification of proof of their production in the area. are as an example, we can mention the obtained luster-ware, Sultan-Abad, Celadon, and Silhouette pottery, which may have been imported from centers such as Kashan, Jurjan, and Nishapur.