Parseh Journal of Archaeological Studies

Lithic Industries of Pleistocene Communities on the Northern Littoral of the Strait of Hormuz and Oman Sea: A Review of a Lithic Collection from the Survey of Thibault and Kadjar, 1977

Sepehr Zarei

Abstract
One of the key issues of the Paleolithic archaeology is pathways and expansion routes of Pleistocene human populations into Asia. Recent discovered Paleolithic sites in the southern coasts and hinterlands of Iran, indicate the importance of these zones in the Pleistocene human dispersals. The 1977 joint French-Iranian geological survey carried out by Thibault, Dufaure, Mercier and Kadjar, gave rise to one of the important contributions to Paleolithic knowledge on the northern coastline of the Persian Gulf and the Oman Sea in pre-revolutionary years. During this survey, remarkable lithic assemblages were collected above a sequence of successive pediment surface, but unfortunately, the final report of Paleolithic finds, was never published. The lithic collections kept at the Paleolithic Department of National Museum of Iran. In this paper, the techno-typological characteristics of this collection is presented. The most prominent feature of this collection is the core-flake industry of the Lower Paleolithic; although we are not sure about the Acheulian evidence. The Middle Paleolithic artifacts in the collections are defined by Levallois debitages, discoid/semi-centripetal cores, and scrapers on flakes, especially transverse and oblique scrapers; however, it is not enough to attribute these finds to the Mousterian culture. The low frequencies of the blades and the lack of bladelets make it difficult to draw conclusions about the Upper/Epipaleolithic industries. The small number of blades and the presence of single platform blade/bladelet core, as well as a truncated blade, are possible evidence of Upper/Epipaleolithic presence in these assemblages. These assemblages can be considered as a new insight into technological behavior of Pleistocene hunter-gatherers in this poorly known part of the Iranian plateau. They show the high capacity of northern shores and littoral of the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea for Pleistocene archaeological studies, and a notable place to test hypotheses such as Out-of-Africa and coastal expansions.
Keywords: Persian Gulf, Oman Sea, Pleistocene Archaeology, Paleolithic, Lithic industries, Coastal Dispersal.

Introduction
An important aspect of Paleolithic archeology relates to pathways and routes taken by Pleistocene human groups in Asia. Discovered Paleolithic sites along the northern coasts and hinterlands of the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Oman Sea (Thibault, 1977; Vita-Finzi & Copeland, 1980; Sarlak et al. 2004; Dashtizadeh, 2009, 2010, 2012a, 2012b; Ali Talesh, 2012; Biglari et al. 2012; Barfi et al. 2013; Zarei & Ravaei 2013; Anjomrooz, 2019; Rahmati & Dashtizadeh, 2019; Zarei, 2021) indicate the importance of these zones in the Pleistocene human dispersals. One of these region that produced a substantial body of evidence is the northeastern shores of the Strait of Hormuz in the Hormozgan Province.
The first Paleolithic material discovered along the southern coast of Iran was by Vita-Finzi during his 1974 and 1975 fieldwork along the Makran coast. It constituted a surface collection with Middle Paleolithic characteristics, including the use of the Levallois method (Vita-Finzi & Copeland, 1980). After that, the French-Iranian joint team with the supervision of Claude Thibault and Mohammad Hassan Kadjar surveyed this region during April and May 1977. During this mission, remarkable lithic assemblages were collected on the surface of a succession of pediment surfaces (Thibault, 1977; Dufaure, 1978). Unfortunately, the final report of this survey was never published due to the untimely death of Thibault (Thibault, 1977; Amirlou, 1986; Biglari & Shidrang 2006). The lithic assemblages kept in the Paleolithic Department of the National Museum of Iran, has been studied by the author for a Master thesis (Zarei, 2015). A small part of the survey finds was taken to Bordeaux University by Thibault for further analysis and therefore were excluded from this study (F. Biglari, personal communication, Jan 2014). In this paper, I present the techno-typological characteristic of this lithic collection.

The 1977 Joint French-Iranian Geological Mission
The French-Iranian joint field mission included the following: C. Thibault as Quaternary geologist and Paleolithic archeologist; Jean-Jacques Dufaure as geomorphologist and Jacques Mercier and M. H. Kadjar, both structural and regional geologists, all arrived together in April 1977 with base camp in Minab. On the very first day of field work along the Hassan Langi to Roudan road section, Thibault began picking up lithics material left behind on a pediment surface superposed on a magnificently exposed reverse fault. Unfortunately, with the untimely death of Thibault in a car accident during an archeological mission in Algeria, a final publication concerning these Paleolithic finds was no longer possible but accompanied with a preliminary field report (Thibault, 1977). Dufaure, also wrote a detailed review and synthesis of his observations (Dufaure, 1978). After two decades, a new French team came back to the Minab area to set up a GPS network for Neotectonic studies. Regard and colleagues also measured in situ produced 10Be in quartz boulders exposed on the top surfaces of Late Quaternary sequences (Regard et al. 2005).
With the initial establishment of Center for Paleolithic Research (later Paleolithic Department) in 2000 and officially starting this center, all lithics were taken out from warehouses of museum and organized at this center. Meanwhile, Thibault’s collection was obtained and transferred to the Paleolithic Department and the was briefly studied by Biglari and Shidrang (2006). Initially, the assemblages which consists of 430 lithics, were divided into 6 general categories based on the locations in the tags which include: Minab-Roudan Road, Minab, Sadich, Hassan Langi, and two untitled locations. These locations contain 22 sampling points based on the combination code of the tags. Due to the presence of geofacts in the initial observation, the geofacts and lithic artifacts were separated, which resulted in the identification of 160 lithics (37.2%) and 270 geofacts (62.8%).

Conclusion
Paleolithic research in Southern Iranian coasts, began in 1974-77 following the geological studies of east Hormozgan. During the geological survey of French-Iranian joint mission by Thibault and Kadjar in 1977, a significant lithic assemblage was collected. The typo-technological characteristics of Lower Paleolithic core-flake in these assemblages shares some similarities with Baluchistan region and Arabian Peninsula. In addition, possible artifacts attributed to Acheulian culture are comparable to the Arabian Peninsula; however, such evidence has not been reported in more northern regions such as Kerman, Fars, and Southern Zagros. On the other hand, the use of Levallois method along with some scrapers in the Middle Paleolithic period is comparable to the examples of Arabian Peninsula, Southern Zagros, Fars, and Kerman. However, these assemblages do not provide sufficient information to identify the Upper Paleolithic/Epipaleolithic culture on the southern coasts of Iran and its comparison with the neighboring regions.
The surface of the Persian Gulf has been affected by changes in the mean sea level and these changes caused the Gulf to pull back to follow the Strait of Hormuz during the Middle and Upper Pleistocene and in several phases dried completely (Rose & Petraglia, 2009; Rose, 2010; Armitage et al., 2011). According to the recent finds, it is possible that Pleistocene human groups entered the northern shores of the Persian Gulf after passing the Arabian Peninsula and crossing the dry Strait of Hormuz. However, the route of distribution from Southern Zagros to the northern shores of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman is also worth considering and must be tested. To gain more concise details regarding the Pleistocene human distribution in this region, intensive and systematic survey, excavation of in situ deposits, absolute datings and more accurate knowledge of the typo-technological characteristics are needed, that should be expected in the near future.

Primary Result of Archaeological Excavation at Toll-e Suzo Genaveh, Bushehr Province

Mohammad Hossein Azizi Kharanaghi

Abstract
Archaeological studies on the northern coasts of the Persian Gulf are in the early stages. Although such studies have been started in this area for decades, long interruptions have led to a lack of reliable results. This issue is more acute in the prehistoric period. Limited research results publication has also increased this problem. Although archeological surveys have been done well in Bushehr province, unfortunately, the results of those studies have not been published well. Studying on the northern coasts of the Persian Gulf is not just a research topic today; it is a research duty. Archaeological studies conducted in this region have shown that at least from seven thousand years ago, people who live on the land of Iran have been settled on the northern coasts of the Persian Gulf and had the opportunity to use the sea; although in the early periods this settlement was seasonal; but according to the new evidence of mud-brick architecture at Toll-e Suzo, villages and then permanent cities have been created in this region since the fourth millennium BC, and in the historical and Islamic period, these areas have been completely inhibited. In addition to the food supply, the sea has been playing an important role in trade relations since the Fifth/ fourth millennium BC, which should be considered in archaeological studies of the region. Toll-e Suzo, which is located in Genaveh district, Bushehr Province, is one of the prehistoric sites of the region, which, according to the cultural evidence identified from the excavation in the stratigraphic trench, has been settled from the middle of the fifth millennium to the end of the fourth millennium BC. The inhabitants of this area have been in contact with the interior of the Fars cultural region and southwestern Iran and have also access to marine resources.
Keywords: Persian Gulf, Archaeological Excavation, Toll-e Suzo, Middle Bakun Period, Lapuei Period.

Introduction
The first season of archeological excavations in Toll-e Suzo led to the identification of the cultures of the fifth millennium (Middle Bakun) and fourth millennium (Lapuei) BC, 28 km north of the Persian Gulf coast. This season’s excavation goal was determining the buffer and Core zoom of the site and stratigraphical excavation, which was carried out in the winter of 2017. In this excavation, a trench measuring 4 × 4 meters in the center and at the top of the site was excavated. The thickness of the cultural layers that have been excavated in this trench is 5.80 meters. During the excavation of this trench, two cultural periods with possible gaps were identified. It should be noted that 1.5 meters of the surface layers of the top of the site have been destroyed by bulldozers and surface layers/ periods are not excited. The lower layers (contexts 1016-1036) represent the Middle Bakun (late and mid fifth millennium BC) with diagnostic painted pottery from this period. This pottery is quite comparable with the findings of archaeological excavations in the Fars cultural region. Although the dimensions of excavation were small during this period, the establishment of this period in Toll-e Suzo can be considered as belonging to semi-monogamous communities that, according to the climatic conditions, were established in this area in suitable seasons. The Middle Bakun period is the culmination of several thousand years of pre-historical cultural development in the Fars region.
Research Methods: Archaeological field activity and library have been used in this research. In this way, during one season of field excavation, cultural evidence and archaeological documents were collected, and then by studying published references and library sources and archival reports, the background research of the region was studied and comparative examples were collected.
Research Questions: 1- The oldest settlement evidence of Toll-e Suzo is related to what periods? 2- What is the chorological sequence of Toll-e Suzo? 3- Is there evidence of Fars prehistoric cultures on the northern coast of the Persian Gulf? 4- Did the people of Toll-e Suzo have the possibility to exploit the marine resources?
Research Hypothesis: 1- The oldest cultural evidence of settlement in Toll-e Suzo dates back to the fifth millennium BC. 2- Toll-e Suzo has been identified according to the material evidence and the thickness of the settlement layers has two cultural periods; Bakun and Lepoi. 3- Fars prehistoric cultures were completely prevalent on the northern coast of the Persian Gulf in Bushehr province. 4- The animal bone evidence of the Toll-e Suzo excavations shows that the inhabitants of this area used marine resources.

Conclusion
During this period, despite regional differences, a large part of southern Iran reached uniformity in terms of material culture (Week et al, 2010). Regarding the distribution of Bakun pottery in such a wide area from the Persian Gulf in the south to the Bakhtiari Mountains in the north and from the eastern borders of Khuzestan in the west to the western borders of Kerman in the east, the hypothesis of traveling potters is raised. They were moving, due to different spatial situations, while preserving the main and standard features of this period, they have also designed various local motifs on pottery (Askari et al, 2008: 38; Weeks et al, 2010). Another hypothesis is based on the fact that there was a tradition of extramarital relations between local villagers of this period and other areas, which by transferring women to some kind of technical knowledge, vocabulary, and grammar of the decorative patterns of Bakun pottery (Alizadeh, 2004). : 48-49). Also, the phenomenon of nomadic tribes has played a major role in the transportation and exchange of goods produced by the villagers (Alizadeh, 2004; Alizadeh, 2003). Today, Bushehr province and the northern coast of the Persian Gulf are the winter quarters of the Qashqai tribe, so in the so-called winter, these tribes are scattered in all areas of Bushehr province and in the summer in Fars province (Afshar Sistani, 1362: 432). Suzo archaeological evidence also confirms this.
Another cultural period identified in this excavation is Lepuei (contexts 1000-1015). The proposed date for this period is the mid-fourth millennium BC. The diagnostic pottery of this period is simple polished and patterned red vessels, which in some cases are decorated with scarlet motifs. In addition to this type, simple buff ware, gray ware and two samples of Poro Elamite pottery also have been recognized in the fourth-millennium pottery collection of this period. Remains of the mud-brick and right-angled architecture were also encountered under the surface layers, which, due to the small dimensions of the excavation, is not possible to provide a specific function for this structure. According to the architectural evidence, unlike the previous period, it seems that the establishment in this period was permanent and relations with the interior areas of Fars and Khuzestan (according to the samples of the nose-handed jar vessels which are identified on this level) were established. The chronology presented in this paper is only based on comparable and relative studies, but the presentation of absolute dating is inevitable due to the lack of archaeological studies in the prehistoric period in this area, which is hoped to be possible in the future.

‘They went to Tamukkan:’ Some Observations on Bushehr, Borazjan and Overland Travel Between the Persian Gulf and the Achaemenid Capitals

Daniel T. Potts

Abstract
In recent years the Achaemenid sites in the Borazjan area have attracted a great deal of attention and their identification with Elamite Tamukkan/Greek Taocê has been widely accepted. Aside from the architectural interest of these sites, however, their location along what later became an important route linking the Persian Gulf and the Iranian plateau is significant. Whether travelling between the Persian Gulf coast and Shiraz, or the earlier Achaemenid capitals (Pasargadae and Persepolis), Borazjan represents the first stage for travellers moving along this route. This study examines some of the logistical aspects of travel between Borazjan and the highlands, as well as the climatic extremes experienced by travellers during much of the year. The difficulties of traversing the route are illustrated with selections from 19th and early 20th century travellers accounts. The advantages of commencing or ending the journey at Shif, as opposed to Bushehr, are discussed with reference to numerous examples. The importance of mules as pack animals along the route is emphasized. Finally, the implications of the evidence marshaled for the burgeoning field of sensory studies are underscored.

Introduction
R.T. Hallock’s identification of El. Tamukkan with Gr. Taocê1 predated the excavation and initial publication of the monumental architectural complexes near Borazjan (Sang-e Siah, Bardak-e Siah and Charkhab).2 Although Rawlinson suggested that, ‘The Achæmenian Palace of Taoce, mentioned by Strabo, was probably at the modern village of Dalaki, where there is a fine mound of great apparent antiquity,’3 most scholars would today agree that Taocê/Tamukkan should be identified with the Borazjan sites. Due to limited exploration and excavation, the function(s) and chronology of these important sites are still imperfectly understood,4 but iconographic, architectonic and epigraphic data5 suggest building activity and regular use from the reign of Cyrus to that of Darius or Xerxes, and possibly beyond.
Borazjan lies on the principal route linking Bushehr and Shiraz (Fig. 1). As Maclean noted in 1904, ‘The only important route is viâ Borasjun and Kazeroon to Shiraz.’6 For most travellers, Borazjan was either the last stop on the way from the highlands to the Persian Gulf coast, or the first stop heading in the opposite direction. Hence the Borazjan complex would have received visitors during the Achaemenid period who, after sailing either down or up the Persian Gulf by ship and landing on the coast,7 had just completed the first overland stage of their journey to the north; or, moving in the opposite direction, the Borazjan complex would have been where visitors spent their last night before traversing the remaining distance to the coast and boarding a vessel bound for southern Babylonia or points south.
The fact that Bushehr’s Elamite predecessor, Liyan, probably acted as a maritime gateway to the highlands of Anšan8 makes it tempting to think that the Liyan-to-Anšan or Tamukkan-to-Parsa route was always the main thoroughfare from the Persian Gulf to the Iranian plateau. Yet, in some periods, this was demonstrably not the case. During the Safavid period, for example, Bandar ‘Abbas was the principal port of entry on the Persian Gulf for goods destined for the markets of the Iranian Plateau.9 Indeed, when Carsten Niebuhr visited Bushehr in 1765 he remarked that (Fig. 2), until 1735 when Nader Shah decided to make it the headquarters of his much vaunted but never realized navy,10 Bushehr had been an unimportant village.11 Strictly speaking, however, this is not quite correct. Nader Shah’s naval yard was at Reshahr, c. 6 kms. to the south of Bushehr.12 Earlier, Shah ‘Abbas I had kept a squadron of 100 vessels at Reshahr with which to attack vessels bound for Basra.13
Nevertheless, despite fluctuations in the importance of the Bushehr region and its immediate hinterland through time, scholars appear to be unanimous in recognizing the importance of the Borazjan complex. It is not my intention here to challenge this contention, yet it is interesting to consider what the hydrography, climate and environment of the Borazjan region, and the topographic exigencies of travel between the Iranian plateau and the coast, meant to the region’s transient population, whether bureaucrats and royal visitors passing through, or corvée laborers brought to work on the building projects attested in cuneiform sources, during the Achaemenid period. What follows is intended to initiate a conversation about some often overlooked, critical factors that would have impacted all who frequented Bushehr and its hinterland in antiquity, and followed the route linking this part of the coast with the Iranian plateau.
Keywords: Persian Gulf, Borazjan, Elamite, Achaemenid, Tamukkan, Travellers.

Conclusion
This study has sketched out some of the difficulties of travel between Bushehr, Borazjan and the Achaemenid capitals; some of the logistical requirements of travel along that route; and some of the climatic considerations that made travel during much of the year an unpleasant experience, to say the least. These considerations naturally make one consider the Borazjan complex in a new light, not merely as impressive examples of Achaemenid monumental architecture, but as sites that could be difficult of access, uncomfortable and potential graveyards for those not in the upper echelons of society.
In that sense, some of the data presented here may contribute to the growing field of sensory studies in both the recent historical past and more remote antiquity that have become increasingly common in recent years as a means to gaining a deeper understanding of our subjects’ life experiences. Many sensory studies focus on sight — viewsheds, natural illumination and darkness within buildings — and sound — from the noise of battle to the sound of silence on the steppe.103 Others focus on smells, whether pleasant ones produced by frankincense and other aromatics in palaces and sanctuaries,104 or the stench of war, death and the battlefield.105 Sensory discomfort due to extremes of weather and environmental conditions, as well as the influence of these factors on the utilization of a specific ancient site and on its inhabitants, are less commonly treated. Govert van Driel’s study of references to weather in Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian sources, for example, made much of the cold and the importance of seasonality as a consideration in the timing of Assyrian military campaigns, but was curiously silent on the topic of heat.106 In fact, comments on extreme heat tend to be regarded as a literary trope, and the ability to withstand it a form of boasting by those who, despite scorching temperatures, managed to prevail over adverse conditions and defeat an adversary. A vivid illustration of this is provided by the literary account of Nebuchadnezzar I’s (1125-1104 BC) Elamite campaign, launched in July from the eastern Babylonian outpost of Der. ‘With the heat glare scorching like fire, the very roadways were burning like open flame….The finest of the great horses gave out, the legs of the strong man faltered.’107 Yet the unseasonable nature of the campaign also conferred a tactical advantage on Nebuchadnezzar who felt his campaign had been ‘divinely ordained, in the unexpected summer month of Tammuz (June-July). His timing made for a miserable forced march for his army because of the unbearable heat and the dried-up water sources. But this unorthodox timing also afforded Nebuchadnezzar the element of surprise when confronting the Elamite forces.’108
Another, much later example of almost unbearable heat from the same general area appears in Strabo’s description of Susiana which, he noted, had ‘a hot and scorching atmosphere.’ So intense was the heat at Susa that, ‘when the sun is hottest, at noon, the lizards and the snakes could not cross the streets in the city quickly enough to prevent their being burnt to death in the middle of the streets.’109 Such language may sound hyperbolic, but only to someone who has never visited Khuzestan in the summer. Indeed, with a modern average maximum of 46.4˚ C (115.52˚ F) and average minimum of 32˚ C (89.6˚ F) in July,110 the descriptions of Khuzestan’s summer heat in the accounts of Nebuchadnezzar I and Strabo are no exaggeration.
In the introduction to her classic study of Athens and Persia in the fifth century B.C., Margaret Miller wrote that ‘experience shows that even the wildest imagination cannot step beyond the familiar world of sensory experience.’111 Implying as it does that nothing we have not ourselves experienced in the flesh can be imagined, this assertion, I suggest, needs to be modified. On the contrary, we can and must step outside of our own compendium of sensory experiences if we are ever to have an inkling of what life was like in the past. And while we may not be able to travel on a mule from Shif to Shiraz, or sail in a small craft up and down the Persian Gulf, we can get closer to the experience of those who did these things by scrutinizing the literature of pre-modern, pre-motorized travel for experiential descriptions of places that interest us in antiquity. The many descriptions that survive from the 19th and early 20th century of travel between the Persian Gulf coast and Shiraz, via Borazjan, offer a rich body of data that helps us to better understand the exigencies of life there in the Achaemenid period, whether for corvée laborers or élite Achaemenid travellers. They afford us a fresh perspective, one that looks at the Borazjan complex not as decontextualized monuments or free-floating units of Achaemenid architecture and iconography but as buildings tethered to an environment that could be brutally harsh for most of the year, one in which travellers, whether arriving from Babylon by sea or from Pasargadae and Persepolis by land, sought refuge from an unforgiving climate of scorching sun, suffocating winds or freezing cold.

Pottery of the Parthian Period of Tom-Maron, Hormozgan Province

Morteza Hessari

Abstract
Pottery can perhaps be considered one of the most important data found in archaeological excavations in order to help clarify the unknowns of any ancient site and answer questions. This data shows one important part of human interactions in the past. By examining this data, various approaches are available to archaeologists, the prerequisite of which is to be purposeful and act correctly in pottery typology. By studying the pottery of the Parthian period of the and the spread of its types in the Persian Gulf, one of the hand, the cultural expansion of the Parthians in the south of Iran an on the other hand due to its geographical expansion in the south of the Persian Gulf, the seafaring of the Parthians in the northern and southern coasts of the Persian Gulf. The purpose of writing this article is to investigate the types of Parthian pottery in the south of Iran and to document the cultural connections between the settlements in the north and south of the Persian Gulf , then to present a picture of seafaring in the Persian Gulf and the cultural expansion of the Parthians in the Arabian Peninsula. In this article, the Parthian pottery types of the Tom-Maron will be analyzed and classified based on the archeological excavation documents of the area. The most important question in this research is the pottery characteristics of the Parthian period of the Tom-Maron, then we are looking for the question that the cultural development of the Parthian period based on the findings of the Tom-Maron was formed under what factors? This research clearly showed that based on the method of making the color of the body and the paste, 10 types of Parthian pottery can be classified in Tom-Maron. The species identified with the sites of the coasts and islands of the northern Persian Gulf, such as Qeshm Island, Makran regions, and also the southern coasts of the Persian Gulf, such as the Maliha site, form a cultural domain.
Keywords: Pottery of the Parthian, Rodan Plain, Tom-Maron, Persian Gulf.

Introduction
Investigating the cultural materials of different cultural periods in the areas along the Persian Gulf, as a historical and strategic waterway, has always been of interest to rulers near and far, and has been the place of passage for ships of culture and civilizations of the East and the West for thousands of years. In the meantime, due to its location on the banks and back banks of the Persian Gulf and its vital and strategic waterways, namely the Strait of Hormuz, throughout history, the Rodan plain has a very important position from a historical-cultural, political-social, and of course, economic point of view. (Hessari, 2018).
The purpose of writing the article is to investigate the types of Parthian pottery in the south of Iran and to document the cultural connections between the settlements in the north and south of Persian Gulf. In this framework, cultural interactions will be discussed in this period in order to pottery a suitable picture of the relations between the two coasts of the Persian Gulf, which showed the cultural expansion of the Parthians through seafaring in the Persian Gulf. In this article, the pottery types of the Parthian period of Tom-Maron will be analyzed and classified based on the archeological excavation documents of the area. The most important question of this research is the pottery characteristics of the Parthian period of the Tom-Maron can the distribution of these types be a sign of cultural interactions on both sides of the Persian Gulf? Then the cultural development of the Parthian period was formed under what factors based on the findings of the Tom-Maron? This research clearly showed that based on the method of making, the color of the body and the paste in the Tom-Maron, 10 types of Parthian pottery can be classified. About 10 samples of Parthian period pottery were found in this area (Table 1). Among the prominent examples of the Parthian period, we can mention Namord and Lando (Figure 8) was found in prominent sites in the north of the Persian Gulf, such as Reyshahr (Whitechouse & Williamson, 1973). Dambkouh (Basafa, 2008: 24, PL), (row 9, table 1). Regarding the chronology of this type of pottery, Potts has classified them into two old Parthian periods, the first and second centuries AD, and the new type in the early Sassanian period (Potts, 1998: 211).
Single yellow glazed pottery (Fig 6), turquoise monochrome (Fig 7) and pottery with gray paste (Fig 5) are also examples of Parthian pottery from this area in the northern regions of the Persian Gulf , especially in the Qeshm region (Khosrowzadeh , 1392) has been obtained (rows 4,5&6 of Table 1). Other types of pottery with pea-colored paste (Fig 3) and brown brick- like paste (Fig 2) have also been introduced as pottery of this period due to their placement in the layers of the Parthian period , in terms of the comparative of these pottery with the sites of northeastern Iran, such as the Ismail Abad Neishabour site (Davari et al, 2017). In this context, it can be said that one of the most important types of pottery found in this area is Namord pottery. Considering the widespread distribution of Namord pottery in the southeast of Iran and the northern and southern coasts of the Persian Gulf, this type of pottery was probably exchanged in the Persian Gulf as a commodity in a limited and local trade between the northern and southern areas of the Persian Gulf. Although Williamson has proposed the Rodan plain and Minab region as the production area of this type of pottery (Williamson. 1972), the Namord type pottery of Tom-Maron area is also similar in terms of identifying comparable samples in areas such as Kush (Kennet 6.fig :2002). Maliha was obtained on the southern shores of the Persian Gulf.

Conclusion
The connection of the Persian Gulf of Iran is not limited to its geographical proximity, but this sea along with its islands and coasts has been a part of Iran’s territory and culture in different historical periods and is a symbol of the manifestations and works of Iranian culture. In this research, according to the distribution and typology of Parthian period pottery in the Tom-Maron area, the relationship of this area with the areas of the same period was investigated. Based on the present research, 10 types of Parthian period pottery were identified. The results of the typological comparisons show that the similarities between the Parthian pottery of the Rodan region and the neighboring regions, as well as their differences with the distant regions, indicate a wide connection between these regions. Based on the characteristics and typology of the pottery of Tom-Maron site and the remains of pottery kilns, it can be concluded that this site was one of the main centers of Parthian pottery production on the northern shores of the Persian Gulf. The pottery of the northern coasts of the Persian Gulf, Kerman, northeastern Iran, and the southern coastal areas of Persian Gulf have the most similarities with the pottery of Tom-Maron. Also, based on the archaeological excavations of Tom-Maron and the evidence and data obtained, it seems that the Parthian period sites in Rodan plain follow a homogeneous cultural pattern with other sites on the same horizon in the cultural area of the Persian Gulf. The examples of Parthian pottery in the southern countries of the Persian Gulf also apply due to areas from the northern Persian Gulf and its extensive production in those settlements.

Sasanian Silver Bowl at the National Museum of Iran, Indian Gypsies and Persian Gulf

Daryoosh Akbarzadeh

Abstract
Sasanian Silver Bowl at the National Museum of Iran, known as the “dancer-musicians scene”, has been one of the museum’s most archaeological works for the past sixty years. According to Ali Sami, this bowl was purchased in 1334 (1955); it is attributed to the north of Iran (Kelardasht of Mazandaran). The palm-shaped head of this bowl shows four dancer-musician-singers with four different well-known musical instruments as well as a figure of a pheasant in the center. In all previous scholarly works, as well as in the many exhibitions in which this bowl has been displayed, this work has been referred to as the motif of the “female dancers-musicians”. However, doubtful interpretations of musical instruments of the motif can be found in the same scholarly works. Obviously Iranian scholars to the internally held exhibitions have followed previously mentioned works. The author will first challenge the “femininity” of these four dancer-musician-singers and will testify the view that three of them are only masculine. Secondly, I will present a new proposal to the readers with a different interpretation of these Iranian music instruments. Also, the author considers this bowl to probably be a heritage from the Persian Gulf (southern, not northern Iran). Furthermore, I will also focus on the identity of these dancer-musicians in such a musical group scene as “Indian gypsies” or at least inspired by such a musical style. The author will also refer to two other lesser-known similar bowls of the Museum. Meanwhile, the author will present a new perspective on the date of this silver object which is based on its motif details and two more Silver Works at the National Museum of Iran. In this comparative study, I will draw a line between the three motifs (of the bowls, especially two of them) based on the two seasons of “winter and spring (or summer)”!
Keywords: Sasanian Silver Bowl, National Museum of Iran, Musician-dancers Scene, Kelardasht, India Gypsy, Persian Gulf.

Introduction
Much has been said and written about the Persian Gulf. Since more than 500 years ago until now, about cultural landscapes, art, music, clothing, food styles to different harbors and etc. through foreign travelogues and Iranian documents can be attributed to colorful valuable data on the Persian Gulf. Archaeology has also testified a large tangible data about Iranian identity over the Persian Gulf. Pre-historic objects to the valuable inscription of Darius the Great obtained from the Suez Canal to other archeological finds from Bushehr, Siraf, Kharg, Qeshm, Hormoz, etc., are proof of this claim. Zoroastrianism legacy in Saudi Arabia and especially Yemen to recent Sasanian coins from the United Arab Emirates, Sasanian fortresses in Oman (cf. Potts, 2012: online)... can be proof of our historical ownership of the Persian Gulf.
Nevertheless, the article stresses on a review of a Sasanian magnificent artistic relic in the National Museum of Iran. This masterpiece frequently has been referred for at least the lasxty years. This significant object has been displayed in most of exhibitions from the inside to the abroad. This Sasanian heritage has been published in most of the catalogs of the National Museum of Iran and international exhibitions. This very beautiful Sasanian work, “silver bowl” known as the “scene of dancer-musicians” with registry number 1332, weight 575.7, diameter 22.55 cm, and height 7 cm, obtained from Kelardasht (?), Mazandaran.

ConclusionUndoubtedly, the Sasanian silver bowl at the National Museum of Iran can be studied from a new perspective. This view can challenge all previous scholarly works from two different aspects.
First, the musical instruments portrayed on this work can testify to its interrelationship with the shores of the Persian Gulf. For example, Castanet or Sinj is a typical instrument. There is a golden shipwreck’s photo (with eight musicians-singers), has some similarities with the silver bowls of the National Museum of Iran, on the website of Asian Civilizations Museum in Singapore.6 According to the website, the work has been discovered from a Persian Gulf bound ship drowned near Indonesia. However, the author has doubts about authenticity of this report!
Although there are few written archaic texts but these instruments have been valid from generation to generation in Iran as endorsed by sources in Sasanian, Post-Sasanian, oral history as well as archeological documents until they have reached our time.
Most Post-Sasanian sources have preserved valuable information about Arghanun, sorena, lute (barbat) and even chime.7 Although Zoroastrian texts do not help on such a topic but the story of Khusraw ī kawādān ud rēdak (Oryan, 2004: 58) mentioned some of the best musicians: “harp-players, lute-players, wan players,8 tambour players, and reed players.”
Chime (cf. Ibn Sina)9 is one of the oldest musical instruments in southern Iran. The Haft-Joush (seven parts) chime was also one of the most common of these musical instruments; the Indian type of which (made of bronze) had a special reputation in Bushehr (Darvishi, 2004: 540,32). Type of the short handled and tied to the fingers have been (and still are) the most common chimes in southern Iran (for the same instrument, see: Gunter and Jett, 1992: 191).
Another important fact is that the production and control of the melody with these four instruments were very difficult for females (women); three of them (bowl) still considered male instruments. In Taq Bostan too, sorena and a kind of arghanun (or bagpipe, maybe nay-e anban) are played by men where females are depicted as tambourine and harp players (farmer, 1964: 96). Both of these latter instruments have always been depicted and described in this way (female).
So, the gender of the musicians will be the second key point of this object. It is as if the previous works did not pay attention to the connection between the “type of instrument and the type of gender” which, according to the tradition, they were at least skilled players.
The story of “ Khusraw ī kawādān ud rēdak “ (Oryan, 2004: 96) describes “a sweet-singing-dancer and a beauty with big breasts, wasp waist, black and long hair ...”. Here are two questions:
1. Whether the female musician-dancer figures on the Sasanian silver legacy, with big breasts, slim waist and charming disheveled hair (National Museum of Iran, cf. fig. 6) cannot be a seal of endorsing the above-mentioned Pahlavi text? If that is the case, which I believe it is:
2. Isn’t this (description) contrary to the motif of the musicians of the silver bowl at the National Museum?
This issue of course according to the type of make-up and body shape confirms that three of them are males. Therefore, in the dance-music scene of other objects, the shawl on the breast (or part of it such as Bishapur mosaic), from behind (such as the silver decanter at the National Museum) or above the head like a sunshade (fig. 9) can be seen. Here, the shawl is skillfully placed on privy parts (low body) by the craftsman in order to have observed Iranian ethics (of course with partial rotation of the body). If in other objects, the shawl plays a role in covering the breasts of women, here it covers probably their low bodies. This is not very compatible with Roman art!
In the Sasanian silver decanter at the National Museum, despite a kind of decorated forehead, the hair of the musician is hung from both sides towards the shoulders but here typical long-braided hair can remind us of Indian style which impacted the Persian Gulf coasts. However, no trace of the hair of the above mentioned musicians can be seen here, and they wear a head-gear (with two different logos on the forehead in pairs) that is fastened with a bandage under the throat (it is unlikely to be a hair strand). On this bowl, the whole body (with details) is portrayed in front and the head is turned to another side (profile), something that does not occur much with other works. The highly balanced and professional limbs of these dancer-musician-singers indicate their affiliation with a professional group. The beautiful and balanced body as well as the “hairless face” of these three male musicians plus one female, is thought to be one of the reasons for calling these four dancers females.
Furthermore, a theme rarely seen in Sasanian art is a “harmonious music group” (male and female) scene. Even in the royal hunting scene of Taq Bostan, less resemblance (coordinated group) can be found to this bowl. The musicians of Taq Bostan cannot be called a scene of a group performance.
Another similar silver bowl (fig. 10) with the same motif (four dancer-musicians from Kelardasht) at the National Museum of Iran published by S. Ayazi (2005: 92-93) already. These two bowls differentiate each other by some significant details which have never been studied. In the second bowl, the relatively “thick cover” of the musicians along with the figures of the “birds” is very significant. It seems, to me, that the first one reflects summer or spring season but the second one clearly recalls the winter season. Figures of different birds (which can be discovered in the spring season) is a part of the claim (the second one). There is also a third bowl with the same scene, in the National Museum, which I will write about in more detail in the future.
The author believes that the motifs of these three bowls are merely radiant of a “simple secular feast” (cf. Boyce and Farmer, 1990: 55; also: Gunter and Jett, 1992: 200). Obviously, the Sasanian heritages can never have been recorded without religious traces, which subconsciously ruled the artist’s mind. Hence, the meaningful name of the owner of the first bowl (Farrokh-hormozd not windad-hormozd) to the design of the black “ten” leaves of the palm branch, the pearl ring around the pheasant in the middle of the object, the number of pearls of the pearl ring, two ribbons and also the three branches in the beak (Glory, triple social casts or the doctrine of the Zoroastrianism) are part of this claim.
Although the existence of motif of birds and animals in Sasanian art (rock, art, bullae, etc...) is a normal subject, but the figure of a pheasant (center of the bowl) can remind us of the “Khorasan Art School” that goes as far as China (Akbarzadeh, 2020: 267).
The author believes that there is no connection between this scene and the one from Roman legacy of Dionysian or the goddess Anahita (Catalog of Wien, 2003: 233; Gunter and Jett, 1992: 27), as mentioned in all previous works. The following reasons can support me to challenge the previous works: “the typical oriental type of dance of these dancer-musicians, which is evident from their body shape, the pheasant figure most unrelated to the Zoroastrian goddess, the partial nudity dancers, which is not compatible with the officially known Sasanian art (but they are covered on the second bowl), their instruments, the absence of any bold religious symbols etc... supposedly for their body shape (type of dance), type of head-bands, shawl pattern, typical southern chime (with base, like pliers), dancer-musicians in group scene ...” Also, the author points the finger at India, not the Roman heritage for such a coordinated group performance that Sasanian art lacked (cf. Boyce and Farmer, 1990: 60).
The Indians have always been known as female-males dancer-musicians in group form (unlike individual Sasanian dancer-singers). Also, the figure of the peacock (bowls 2-3) can support this claim. Moreover, the presence of Indian musicians-dancers in the Sasanian period is a well-known issue. It is obvious that Bahram V (Gur), after treating the mental condition of the Iranian society, ordered many musicians from India to come to Iran and play in public. These musicians are known as “gypsies” in the history of Iran.10 In fact, the author evaluates this group of naked (and partly-covered) dancer-musicians (with a completely different body shape) on these Sasanian bowls as Indian gypsies. Their half-nakedness cannot be an Iranian tradition in dance. In a work, about such instruments, attributed to Ibn Khordadbeh (Mallah, 1963: 28; Sami, 1970: 49) narrates that: “Iranians usually played the lute with the flute and the tambourine and the sorna with the dohol (drum) and mastaj (chime) and the senj.”
The author also believes that due to the to the accuracy in construction and high technic of these valuable bowls and the processing of artistic symbols, especially such a dancer-musicians in group scene, its attribution to the eighth century AD., Post-Sasanian period (given the socio-political situation of Iran), is questionable. If this bowl(s) was made in the geographical boundary of Sasanian Fars province (including parts from Khuzestan to Fars and the whole of present-day Bushehr province) (which is strongly believed to be the case), the eighth century AD. was the most difficult period of this part of the Persian Gulf. Furthermore, the artistic details of these objects are never less, if not more beautiful than the objects of the sixth century AD. (cf. Lawergren, 2009: online). The skill in the inscribed needle-shaped of the owner’s religious name, the exact size of the body of the musicians, the branches of the grape, colored lace and other details indicate that the creation of this work can be even brighter than the eighth century AD.
Despite this, a fundamental problem will remain and that is the type of cover of the dancers on these three bowls. This coverage can mean a “seasonal difference”, that is likely to be the case. Based on this one, we should focus on the eighth century AD. The author suggests that the second bowl (covered dancers) can be a reminder of Mihragan Festival at the beginning of winter and the first one (naked) can be reminiscent of Nowruz Festival (or a summer fest). This six-month gap (between two seasons) is the least reason why the two group of the two objects can be considered the same. If we cannot opine about the time of Mihragan Festival, but the time of Nowruz Fest was not fixed at the beginning of spring in the Sasanian calendar. This event is related to the early Islamic periods and this one does not contradict the eighth century. In short, that discovery of this bowl (for whatever reason) from northern Iran will never be an excuse to consider its origin as northern, and of course this is not surprising in archeology.

Cultural Exchanges of Southeastern Iran with Oman based on Archaeological Evidences

Mohsen Javeri

Abstract
Cultural Iran according to historical evidences, archaeological remains and cultural features such as language, ceremonies and customs, it covers a wide range from Central Asia to parts of the Indian subcontinent to the Caucasus and Asia Minor and throughout the Middle East and parts of the north of Africa. Throughout the history of the governments that ruled the Iranian plateau, at certain points in time have dominated a large part of the ancient world that, while political domination, have left their cultural influence directly and indirectly in various aspects in these realms and areas. These effects on the mentioned areas are so deep that they can be considered as part of the cultural Iran. Material evidence of this influence and cultural influences can be found in the material remains left in the form of cities, as well as the character of buildings, ancient hills and historical sites and their dependent effects related to them, including the formation and patterns of pottery, architectural decorations, as well as cultural influences such as language, clothing, customs, and mythology. In this regard, trade and exchange in the form of transfer of artificial products from Iran to other lands also has a particular importance. In this regard, some pieces of tile decorations in Qalhat site were obtained during the archeological survey of the Iranian mission, which are clear examples in this field. The ancient port of Qalhat in Oman is one of the lands that owes part of its history to the presence of the Iranian element there; According to evidences, the presence began at the beginning of the historical period of Iran, ie the Achaemenid period, and has continued for centuries. In this article, we are going to introduction this ancient port to answer the question that tile decorations obtained from the archeological survey of the Iranian mission how confirm the trade and cultural exchange between Iran and this port ? Another question is: from which center or tile production center in Iran have been these tiles traded? This research is descriptive historical type and seeks to answer the research question with an archaeological approach based on evidences and remains from survery and library studies, including refering to historical texts and other sources.
Keywords: Qalhat Island, Bibimarim, Zarinfam Tile, Iranian Archaeological Board, Kashan.

Introduction
The ancient port of Qalhat is located 15 km north of the port and industrial city of Sur in the eastern province of Oman. Qalhat is one of the most important ports in Islamic lands along with other ports such as Sohar and Nazwa in Oman and Siraf in Iran, which has been of special importance throughout its history due to their location. This port is located in a triangle area where the natural and geographical features including mountains and sea have formed. The city covers an area of around 60 hectares from the west to the heights of Jabal Al-Hijr, from the north to the alluvial valley of Wadi Al-Helm, and from the east to the sea, and from the south to the city fence wall. Cultural exchanges of
The results of the study program showed that the first period of settlement in this place reaches the third millennium BC (Bronze Age of Oman). Also, historical information confirms the continuation of the activity of the inhabitants of this place in the Iron Age, and periods of Parthian, Sassanid, early Islamic, Islamic Middle Ages - Seljuk period - until the sunset of the peaks in the seventeenth century AD. Accordingly, we are witnessing a period of about four thousand five hundred years of residence and prosperity in this port city.

Description
At the end of its life, this port was occupied by the Portuguese during the reign of Shah Abbas I Safavid. The Portuguese at this time in order to expand their colonies and dominate on the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman, the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean and control the lucrative trade of these parts and compete with the Dutchs and the Britishs who at this time realized these lucrative areas, Sent warships and units of their navy to these areas and occupied important areas including several islands and ports, which can be mentione areas such as Gambron port - Bandar Abbas - Hormoz and Qishm islands in Iran and ports of Qalhat, Ras al-Hadd, Sohar, Nazwa and Qoryat in Oman. In 1639, following the revolt of the inhabitants of the people of Qalhat against the occupiers and the recapture of the city, the defeated Portuguese retreated using explosives placed in the city on one side and with the cannons of their ships on the other targeted the city with severe attacks and completely destroyed it , so that except for the tomb of Bibi Maryam and the water reservoir of the city that was adjacent to it, all urban structures were destroyed. Some have attributed the non-destruction of the tomb to the Portuguese respect for Maryam’s name. In any case, this destruction was so widespread that it led to the destruction and abandonment of the people, and thus this important port disappeared for ever.
Following the conclusion of an agreement between the Cultural Heritage Research Organization of Iran and the Ministry of Archeology and Culture of the Oman, Two research programs were conducted in the Qalhat area under the supervision of the author. During the first season in the winter of 2007, this area was archaeologically surveyed and all its architectural remains were mapped and documented. In this regard, the important places of the port, including the areas around Bibi Maryam’s tomb and Qalhat Mosque, were surveyed with more focus. In the second season, in the winter of 2008, based on the knowledge obtained from the archaeological survey conducted in the previous season, a place was selected for excavation, which resulted a building with the use of a khan or travelers’ residence.

Conclusion
One of the sites surveyed by the Iranian archaeologists is the remains of the ruined Mosque of Qalhat, which is located in the southeastern part of the city and overlooks the sea. This mosque has a square plan and was constructed with materials including rubble and light coral stones, like other buildings in the city, and from the surface artifacts, it can be seen that it was decorated with a lot of decorative elements related to architecture. The tiles used in this building are of the star and cross type in turquoise and green colors.
The most important building in this city is the tomb of Bibi Maryam, which has a quadrangular building with a crypt tomb; A building that, as mentioned, has survived the pervasive destruction of the city by the Portuguese. Bibi Maryam, the wife of “Ayaz”, the ruler of the Ilkhanid period, was in Hormoz, who sat on the throne for 2 years after the death of her husband around 696 and 697 AH. According to the available evidence, parts of the inside and outside of the tomb were covered with tiles. Except for a few pieces, none of the tile decorations are left on this building, at now, but existed evidences on walls indicate that many parts of the building are covered with different types of tiles. The study indicated that, pieces of several types of tiles were used as ornament for the tomb. In this article, we have introduce the tiles obtained from the study and discussed how to transfer these cultural materials in the form of trade and compare and them with similar examples in Iran.

The Network of Telegraph Office and Customs Bushehr Province

Soudabeh Maamouri

Abstract
The customs buildings complex at the Persian Gulf in Bushehr Province was built at the end of the Qajar era and the beginning of the Pahlavi era. These buildings are very similar. All these buildings are architecturally built in the same way. All these buildings have two floors and match each other. The architecture of these buildings is derived from the architectural style of the second half of the 18th century and 19th century of the West. This style entered Iran’s architecture as a symbol of modernity and strongly influenced Iranian architecture. It has to be mentioned that this influence was much greater in the last years of the Qajar era compared to its first years. By using the historical research method and library studies, it is tried to collect the necessary data about the research subject and obtain adequate understanding of the customs and telegraph offices in Bushehr Province.
Keywords: Telegraph Offices, Customs, Bushehr Province, Qajar Era.

Introduction
Bushehr was considered one of the important commercial and cultural centers since ancient times, which would connect the Elamites with the Mesopotamia on one hand and the Melos in present-day India with Oman and the Mesopotamia on the other hand, and this is emphasized in linguistic sources apart from archaeological data. (Hesari et al., 2011; 247) There are some ruins of an Elamite port that are found in a place called Reyshahr, near Bushehr, where an inscription of Šutruk-Nahhunte was discovered and read. This city is probably Liyan Elamite, and it seems that until the 15th century BC, it was under the control of the Elamites and it was a city dependent on Anshan, rather than Khuzestan. Even its name has an Elamite root, and the word NIM is placed in front of the name of this city. Based on the texts of Ur III, Steinkeller has dated Liyan to Bushehr of the late 3rd and 2nd millennium BC and has suggested that Anshan had a direct route to Mesopotamia through this port (Steinkeller, 1982: 252). The new history of trades in Bushehr began with the kingdom of Nader Shah Afshar, which has played a special role in the last two centuries of Iran. By the order of Nader Shah, the main boundary of Bushehr was built by Sheykh Naser Abu Mehiri. (Hamidi, 2010: 50), but the overall structure of Bushehr today was formed in the Qajar era (Ranjabr et al., 2010: 24). In the 18th century, Bushehr was considered as the most important commercial port of Iran in open waters. (Dashti, 2001: 117). The presence of customs in Bushehr Province during the Qajar era caused most of the major countries of the world, including England, Russia, Germany, France, etc., to have a political representative office in this city. This city became the southern gate of Iran for the exchange of political ideas and cultural relations. During the Qajar era, the English telegraph line extended from London to India. This line in Bushehr Province extended to Fars Province, and the line was transmitted from different countries, including Iran, either on land or sea cables.

Research Introduction
The main objective of this research is to study the reason for the exitance of customs in Bushehr and the telegraph houses and studying their architecture. The research question is: why are there several customs and telegraph houses in Bushehr? And what are their architectural characteristics?

Bushehr Custom Building
The first modern custom building of Bushehr Province, known as Chehar Borj (Four-Tower) is in Bushehr City. This custom was built and established during Naser al-Din Shah Qajar era, by Mo’in-O-Tojjar-e Bushehri at his expense with the plans of the Belgians. This mansion was known as Four-Tower at the time of its building and it was the center of the governance of Persian Gulf ports and islands during the Qajar era. Whenever the governer of Bushehr would come to Bushehr City for the governance of the city from Tehran or Shiraz, they would settle in this place. This building was designed by Joseph Naus, known as Belgian Monsieur Naus. (Fig. 1-8)

Bulkheyr Custom
This building is a two-floor building facing the sea. The eastern and western façades of the building are similar. The two floors match each other and share the same façade. There are three rooms on each floor and all three rooms are connected to each other. There is a small room on the north side which might have been a pantry. There are stairwells on the northern and southern sides of the building. (Fig. 9-14)

Dayer Custom
This building is a two-floor building facing the sea. The eastern and western façades of the building are similar. The two floors match each other and share the same façade. There are three rooms on each floor and all three rooms are connected to each other. There is a small room on the north side which might have been a pantry. There are stairwells on the northern and southern sides of the building. (Fig. 15-19)
Kangan Custom
This building has two stories and both stories are similar and they both match each other. The balcony with its beautiful round columns has led to prominence of the building. There has been a stair well in the south part of the building that would connect the second floor to the roof. There is an office, a lobby and a kitchen on each floor. There are squares on the top of each door that were used for lighting. (Fig. 20)

Mohammad ‘Ameri Custom
The unique feature of this building is its shape and design, which was built uniformly on the entire coast of the Persian Gulf. This building is one of the buildings of the Qajar customs whose remains are left, and it was used in the early Pahlavi era. (Fig. 21)

Lavar-e Saheli Custom
This building is built in two floors and has an entrance that opens to the west. The two floors are built in the same shape and match each other. There has been a staircase in the south of the building that connected the upper floor and the roof. (Fig. 22)

Bushehr Telegraph Office
The telegraph office was initially in Jabri neighborhood and then it is moved to Haft Bangleh in Bahmani neighborhood. The marine transmission cable line extended from Haft Bangle to Karachi in India. The last telegraph and post office in that time was located in Kuti neighborhood near British Consulate behind Shahdokht school, that is ruined now. During Naser al-Din Shah era, telegraph offices were only established by the British and they were managed by British presidents and Iranian employees.

Conclusion
Undeniably, architecture changes during any era according to the lifestyle of people in any country. From the middle of the Qajar era, with the change of intellectual resources and thoughts ruling the society, as well as the awareness of the progress, different needs were felt compared to the past. They saw meeting these needs and the solutions in following the Western methods. The establishment of Dār ul-Funun, sending students to Europe, hiring foreign teachers and publishing newspapers, triggered a change in social and political attitudes during the Qajar era. The atmosphere ruling the architecture of Qajar era also followed the same attitude. From the middle of Naser al-Din Shah era, the confrontation between tradition and modernity gradually led to the victory of modernity, and architecture lost its old forms and found on a western form. It seems that the frequent trips of the Qajar kings to Europe left a significant impact in the field of architecture. The kings and princes wanted to implement the western architectural design in their land. Western examples also quickly became popular among the people and all over Iran. This architecture is characterized by the protruding and columned main entrance and grand ceremonial stairs, and the rooms are built in two wings on the first and second floors. The customs buildings in Bushehr Province were built at the end of the Qajar era and the beginning of the Pahlavi era, and they were among the first buildings in Bushehr Province that appeared with a different architecture, and their design is not derived from the architecture of that period, but it is influenced by the architecture of the West, and due to extensive connections of Bushehr with other countries, the role of foreign architects has been prominent in this province. Care should be taken in order to preserve valuable buildings such as these customs building which were studied in this article, so that they are not destructed.

A Proposal to Restore the Ponds, a Fresh Water Storage System in the Northern Areas of the Persian Gulf

Ali Hozhabri

Abstract
A large part of Iran is located in dry areas, for this reason, various measures have been taken for water management, especially surface water. Dry weather, lack of rainfall, seasonality of river water and gradual drying of rivers, created the idea of water storage in the form of dams, aqueducts and cisterns in the human mind. The cisterns have different designs depending on the climatic and social conditions of each region. Also, the architecture of such buildings in different regions has been influenced by local architecture. Optimum management of low rainfall in a few days of the year in an area that due to the geological texture of the underground water table is insignificant and salty was a sign of the genius of the inhabitants of the Iranian plateau for water storage. With the progress of this tradition, especially during Islamic periods, the number of settlements in the region increased. One of the water storage structures is the cisterns, which were built along the flood path so that the surface water is directed to them after the rain and used for various purposes. The question is, considering the scarcity of water in the region, is it possible to restore this structure in a modern way by reviving the past techniques? Due to the low but heavy rainfall in the south of the country, the ponds, in addition to providing an important part of the residents’ water, also act as floodgates, and with one rain at the end of the summer season and a few rains in the winter season, all the thousands of ponds in the south of the country are filled. But with the dependence of these areas on the water of the dams, in addition to the pressure on the country’s water resources, this historical tradition is gradually being forgotten. However, from the results of this research, based on the statistics, it seems that the restoration of the ponds -with government support and with a modern design based on historical patterns- will provide the possibility of water supply for the residents of the region.
Keywords: Barka, Ab-Anbar, Islamic Period, Fars, Hormozgan.

Introduction
The relationship between water and the world of existence can be defined from two perspectives: one is quantitative and experimental sciences and the other is spiritual issues of life and knowledge. Iran is considered one of the dry tropical regions of the world due to its special geographical position and very scattered unevenness’s and the influence of other factors. With this description, being located in the dry and water-scarce regions of the world, water has always had a high value and dignity in Iran, and for this reason, many advances and innovations have emerged in the field of water extraction and transportation. Among the most important of these developments, we can mention aqueducts, reservoirs, dams and weirs, as well as other types of structures and management operations that have been used. Therefore, the creative solutions of human connection with water have played a remarkable role in alleviating harsh natural conditions and in the meantime, the construction of water reservoirs has become popular in the extremes of Iran and water reservoirs have been built in many cities. Reservoirs with their interesting architecture are usually built in arid, desert and semi-arid areas to store rainwater more than in other places.
Iran’s governments in Islamic eras, with emphasis on issues related to hygiene and purity, built water reservoirs as an essential element in the lives of Muslims in or near mosques. And they became more common near them, with the evolution, development of agriculture and trade in this era, the construction of water reservoirs in villages led to the development of village, and as a result, the increase in population along the caravan roads led to the expansion of roads. It became commercial and accordingly it became commercial. At the same time with the development of Islam in different countries and the expansion of cultural exchanges, thanks to the blessing of the religion and the unified central government, construction techniques developed a lot. Construction of cylindrical-shaped tanks became common in Iran during this period due to the relatively low cost of construction and the greater resistance of its body against water pressure. Perhaps the method of making spherical or conical domes appeared in Iranian architecture from this period and for this reason. During this period, with the emergence of new cities and neighborhoods, reservoirs were placed next to mosques, schools, markets and government palaces like centralizing elements, and therefore it seems that reservoirs were a place for various social interactions. One of the prominent features of the city in Islamic era was the facilities such as mosques, bazaars, reservoirs, aqueducts, etc. The reservoir in the center of the neighborhood or city, in addition to providing water, is an excellent sign of There was a need for urban social life, for this reason, these buildings were sometimes built as a complex, such as a caravanserai complex, a reservoir, a guard house, a watchtower, and a refrigerator. The main passages or alleys sometimes branch off and lead to one or more houses. In addition to the possibility of reaching the neighborhood centers and the city center, the crossings also provide the possibility of quick and easy access to water reservoirs.

Conclusion
The lifestyle of Iranians, especially with the end of the Qajar period, became different from the past, one of which is fresh water piping. At the same time, the management of water resources in local ways caused the economic prosperity of the country based on the existing surface resources and underground water tables and the lack of pressure on them. Water cisterns have been a historical investment from the distant past, which, in addition to drinking, have also been used for industrial and agricultural purposes. Considering that currently one of the management problems is still the supply of drinking water in different regions of the country, it is suggested to provide part of the water problems of arid and semi-arid areas by restoring water reservoirs and creating examples of them in larger dimensions. Since the biggest management problem of water is its production, the past taught us that even in places where the underground water table is salty and there is no permanent river on the surface of the earth, fresh and pleasant water can be produced with some measures, and these methods will bring prosperity to the population and Roads have been expanded and the population has increased. Today, the experiences and techniques of the past should be used with today’s science to develop country and prevent consequences of dehydration and drought. Therefore, this article is a proposal in which the Ministry of Energy; Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts; Ministry of Agriculture; Ministry of Roads and City Planning; Iran Water and Power Resources Development Company; Country Water and Wastewater Engineering Company; Iran Water Resources Management Company; Organization of forests, pastures and watershed management of country; And, of course, local communities play a significant role in maintaining and building water reservoirs as water storage tanks.

Trade Ports of Japan & Iran in Qajar / Meiji Era

Seyed Benyamin Keshavarz

Abstract
Since the formation of the Silk Road, the route has been the main route between East and West Asia. With the beginning of the age of colonialism, the process of globalization began and so direction-function of communication evolved greatly, which reached its peak in the nineteenth century and the close relationship of Iran-Japan became possible. the question of the present article is which areas or ports of Japan and Iran in the nineteenth century were used foreign trade, did the designated areas had a history and what factors affected trade. answer is that the products of the Sassanid and Safavid types reflect the political position of Japan and the trade role of other nations rather than a demonstration of the Iran-Japan relationship but in 19th century because of Imperialist pressure and needs of global trade this drastically changed .A historic review of this relationship reveals areas in Japan that were the main centers of state trade, such as the ports of Osaka and Kobe to Kyoto and Nara plains, the port of Nagasaki, and the ports of Kanagawa Bay specially Yokohama, which all of them played a similar & synchronized role in the 19th century to make trade possible from the ports of Bushehr, Lenge and Abbasi in Iran and even because of Opium trade it expanded to Taipei too. So before nineteenth century the trade in question was always influenced by the culture of closeness in Japan, but in the new era due to the pressure of imperialism and the trend of modernism gates were opened and strategic goods such as Opium exported from Iran to Imperial Japan. In order to achieve the above, artifacts and written sources along with the analysis of geographical data by using a socio-historical approach have been used.
Keywords: Japan, Iran, Globalization, Qajar Era, Meiji Era.

Introduction
Since earliest times humans had trade relations to each other and so created trade routes which by developing and increasing of social complexity these routes became longer and connect more and larger societies, one of ancient and maybe first truly international routes known as Silk Road and so colonial powers (such as at first Dutch & USA) same naval routes. In result western countries connected Iran to Japan & those two as a process of modernization opened their doors to globe and started their embassies. our question is which areas/ports of Japan and Iran in the nineteenth century were used for trade with each other, did the designated areas had a history and what factors affected trade relations. Hypothesis is the same marine areas of Japan, Omura, Osaka & Kanagawa bays along different eras, Same with Bandar Abbas and Bushehr in Iran. Answering to this non-studied socio-historical title matter is very important. plus at least in Iran, because of social situation study of Qajar period always been hard and easily can effected by non-academic believes.

Main
Japan is an archipelago at the east end of Asia which as Nihongi say, made of eight main islands. Such geographic setting makes a special cultural which before anything is barred from outside and there is a self-aware hierarchy which despite shatter nature of geography, make centralize system possible. because of this cultural, Japan closed its borders to foreign relation many times such as in Heian, Kamakura and Edo periods. so despite creation of Silk Road in 119B.C Japan did not benefit it until Jingu invasion of Korea in 3th century, exactly when Sassanid artifacts alongside Korean ones found northern Kyushu & central Honshu. which most of them made in Korea not Iran. The only sources in advent of Islam are Geographer’s mention of Japan as Vaq. In early Colonial era everything changed when Portuguese and Dutch traders came to Safavid Iran and Japan at war. We do know Safavid cloth, salt, rug and even maybe marble exported to Japan by all of it foreign traders to Nagasaki and Osaka ports. By beginning of Sakoku or closed door policy of Edo period almost everything came back to first step. In 19C because of economic pressure of modernization Iran began it global trade, at first by silk and then Opium which make Iran close to eastern Asia and particularly Qing China. At the same time, Japan ended Sakoku and enters Meiji era so by the will of Nasereddin shah two countries began their relation which strengthen by Japanese conquest of Taiwan, where most of Iranian opium exported from ports of southern Iran like Bushehr and it follows by oil and Japanese exports from main ports like Yokohama and Osaka which were used during history because of their fine geography that make grow and trade easier.

Conclusion
With establishment of the Silk Road a great opportunity created for meeting of both civilizations of Japan & Iran but China & specially Korea had their monopoly in trade & relation. So least of acknowledgment and indirect relation was possible for Japan and Iran. In fact, the artifacts are more show of Japanese power & prestige than it economics. Another reason was closeness in Japanese cultural. In early colonial era were another lords of monopoly in foreign trade at least for Japan. Despite these trade happened in the same route and trade areas through history until 19C which because of Imperialist pressures new order began and so both countries began their globalization process and so for the first time direct political, cultural and economic relations were possible. The area of Omura bay and mainly Nagasaki alongside of northern parts of Kyushu to the Shimonoseki since early centuries of AD was main place for trade, the reason other than great gulfs is it nearness to main body of Asia. eastern Osaka area (or Osaka and Kobe) is a great place for establishment of a megapolis trade port and always was in use because of its route to Kyoto and other ancient capitals. We can see the same situation for Bushehr which is very close to Shiraz and other places of power to Tehran. But Kanagawa and Hormozgan areas have way better situation for making cities and ports specially their situation is more attractive for foreign traders. Because of that by modernization those ports roused immensely. Another port which grow because of 19C modernization is Taipei which used for importation of Iranian goods and have physical geography as good as Nagasaki.