Abstract
The historical site of Vigol and Haraskan is located near Aran and Bidgol city in the north of Isfahan province. The archaeological studies of the first season of this site led to the identification of the central part of a fire temple and a small part of its circumambulation corridor. The second season of the archeological exploration in the fire temple was to identify other spaces around the central part of the fire temple. Archaeological studies revealed that since this fire temple was built in the urban context, it is more important than the fire temples that were built away from settlement areas. Beside architectural evidences, religious elements and decorative stucco relics found in this fire temple, the identification of several Sassanid Pahlavi inscriptions on the walls of the eastern circumambulation corridor of the fire temple and two Ostracons added to its importance. Pahlavi inscriptions founded on stucco plaster of the dado which are written in a beautiful handwriting. Unfortunately, except for a few inscriptions, most of them cannot be read and require extensive research. In this research data collection about Vigol fire temple and its Pahlavi inscriptions was done by field methods and linguistic and descriptive-analytical studies. The main questions of the research are: What is the content of Pahlavi inscriptions and what themes do they include? What period of time does the estimated date of writing these inscriptions include? Given to linguistic and archeological studies, the placement of these inscriptions inside the fire temple, the content and of them has religious themes, and according to their writing style, these inscriptions were probably written in the 7th and 8th centuries AD. According to the dating of the inscriptions, it seems that the fire temple of Vigol had a high reputation until the early Islamic centuries and was probably abandoned forever in the first of 9th AD century.
Keywords: Vigol and Haraskan, Fire Temple,Sassanan Period, Islamic Period, Pahlavi Inscription.

Introduction
Vigol ancient site has located in near Aran and Bidgol County in central of Iran (fig1). That is a vast site which covers more than 120 hectares, is currently covered with a thick accumulation of flowing sand. Archaeological excavations in the year 2010 led to the discovery of Sasanian fire temples in the site of Vigol and Hraskan, and the identification of four arches and a part of the circumambulation corridor was done in the first season of the excavation (Javari & MontazerZohouri, 2022). The second season of excavation in Vigol fire temple began in May 2021, which was aimed at identifying other spaces around the central part of the fire temple.
One of the most important evidences is the discovery of several Pahlavi inscriptions on one of dados and two walls which covered with ocher in the western corridor. These inscriptions, in addition to providing some religious statements, help us to identify the existence of the fire temple.In the procedure in the first stage, the found Pahlavi inscriptions were read, and along it, they were compared with archaeological and historical evidences. The number of inscriptions identified in this fire temple are six, but three of them are readable. Also, two pieces of written pottery (Ostracons) were also identified, which are still not readable due to high erosion.
The second season of the excavation of the fire temple was dedicated to the four-arched doorways (char taqi) of the fire temple on the north, east and west sides(fig2). In the next step, the exploration focused on identifying the spaces of ambulatory corridors in the north, east, west, and south sides around the four arches of the fire temple. Archeological studies as well as historical evidence about the fire temples led to the recognition of several architectural phases in this religious building. The second phase of the architecture of this fire temple is related to the porticoes built in the east of the fire temple and the third architectural phase is related to the period of the change of use of this fire temple in the Islamic period, when some spaces of the fire temple, such as the northern and western gates and the gates in the eastern corridor, were blocked with mud brick walls.

Inscriptions
A total of six inscriptions have been found on the walls of the eastern ambulatory corridor in the southern part, of which three inscriptions have been read. Among the six identified inscriptions, two inscriptions are on the eastern wall, one of these two inscriptions is written on the northern dado and the other is written on the upper part of the southern wall on which has an ocher cover. Four other inscriptions were written on the western of the southern part of wall of the eastern circumambulation corridor in front of the inscriptions on the eastern wall which all due to erosion are not readable (Fig3).
Inscription No. 1 located on the western wall is considered the clearest inscription in this collection, which is written on the stucco plaster of the wall with a legible and well-written script that is in five lines(Fig5). The text of the inscription was read by Professor Dieter Weber, a specialist in ancient languages, which is as follows: The text of the first inscription, according to the transliteration and reading of the inscription, has repeated and practiced writing the word “wrote” (nwbšht), which can be fallowed this word in other Pahlavi inscriptions. A number of thin pieces of plaster of this dado of the eastern wall of the Eastern ambulatory Corridor, which contain Pahlavi letters, were identified during the excavation at the side of the floor of this corridor(Table1). These thin gypsum pieces are part of the dado of the wall and contain several connected words and part of a legible and sometimes indistinct letter, which are written on the plaster using black ink with a pen, just like the original upper inscription. In terms of the dating of inscription number one and other inscriptions, according to Professor Weber, who studied this inscriptions, this writing style of Pahlavi script belongs to the late Pahlavi script, in other wise, to the early Islamic period, almost equal to 7th 8th centuries AD are relate.
Inscription No.2, this inscription is written in one line, which probably reflects a religious theme(Fig 8 ). The text of the inscription says: “(donated) to šād ruy baxt Āzarmugh”; in another sense, “it was charmingly presented to Āzarmugh”. This inscription is of special importance because it contains the name of a Zoroastrian priest of this region in the Islamic period, “Āzarmugh”. This evidence also tells about the existence of Zoroastrian religion in the early Islamic centuries in this region and the insistence of the residents of this area to preserve this religion.
‘L š’tlwdbht ’clmwk
ō šadrōybaxt Āzarmōg
Inscription number three, which is written in two lines, is still not possible to provide a consistent reading and translation due to erosion and lack of clarity(Fig 8 ).
1 KR’  MNW wlt’ý Y ZNH … l’d
2 BYN …… k’lyt …-b’k wl t’ý Y ZNH  
The phonetic writing of this inscription is as follows. In this inscription, there are words that include some illegible words and some Huzvariš, which are as follows: (KR’) with the reading of “har”:(evry); (MNW) with the reading of “Ke, Keš”:(which); (BYN) with the reading of  “andar”:(in,inner); and (ZNH) with the reading of “en”:(this).

Conclusion
The discovery of Pahlavi inscriptions in the fire temple of Vigol, in addition to the linguistic and grammar value in the field of linguistic studies and the Pahlavi lines of archaeological importance, is a great help for further understanding of the fire temple of Vigol as a fire temple with the rank of Adran, which is in the rank of local fire temples. The first important point is the place where these inscriptions were written in the fire temple, all of them were written in the eastern circumambulatory corridor in the southern part, on the stucco plaster of the dado  of the western wall and on the ocher cover of the upper part of the eastern wall. It seems that due to the location of the porticoes as places related to religious ceremonies in the east of the fire temple and the role of the Eastern circumambulatory corridor between the interior of the fire temple and the porticoes, this corridor has gained more importance and is a suitable place to insert religious inscriptions. In addition to including statements of religious nature and Zoroastrian tradition, the inscriptions help us in determining the historical and archaeological chronology of this fire temple. Based on the studies, according to the writing method and the type of pen, these inscriptions were written in the early Islamic centuries, which prove the religious persistence of the Zoroastrian community in the region until the early Islamic centuries on the other hand, the inclusion of the name “Azarmug” as a Zoroastrian cleric (Mubed) in the early Islamic centuries in central Iran is of particular importance.

Abstract
Recent studies in some archaeological sites of the Central Plateau of Iran and Afghanistan show that a style of decorating potteries known as stamped decoration was favorable to the Sassanid artists. Vigol, an archaeological site located in the northern Isfahan province (Aran and Bidgol), is one of those sites with several examples of Stamped motifs. This paper aims to study the patterns and abundance of stamped motifs and their chronology through comparative studies. Thus, our goal is to answer these questions: What are the patterns of stamped motifs in Vigol and how can we provide statistics on their frequency? What similarities do these motifs have with other common motifs in the art of the Sassanid period? Which of the existing samples can be compared with other motifs from Sassanid sites? The research method is descriptive-analytical which mostly relies on field and desk research. The results show that the motifs on the 49 stamped potsherds can be divided into seven categories, including heart-shaped, vegetal, circular, geometric, abstract, arch-shaped, and paisley patterns (Boteh). The first group of motifs including heart-shaped, vegetal, circular, arch-shaped, paisley, and some geometric motifs, are comparable to some artistic aspects of the Sassanid period like stucco design or reliefs and stamped motifs from other Sassanid sites. Chronologically stamped motifs of Vigol are comparable to some sites like Sassanid sites of southeastern Tehran province, Chal Tarkhan of Ray, Qaleh-Gabri and Langi-rud of Qom; and sites like Qasri-Abu Nasr, Ctesiphon, Qal’eh-i Yazdigird and Mes Aynak outside of the survey area. Several geometric and abstract motifs seem to be local and similar examples cannot be found.
Keywords: Aran and Bidgol, Vigol, Sassanid Art, Sassanid Pottery, Stamped Motifs. 

Introduction
Vigol is located in the southeast of Aran and Bidgol, nowadays surrounded by dunes deserts, and shrubs that cover most of the site. Based on some early and middle Islamic texts, this site was probably one of the villages around Kashan. In Tarikh-i Qum (History of Qom) written by Hassan ibn Mohammad Qomi, Aran, Haraskan, Noush-Abad, and Halil are mentioned. Some scholars believe that Halil is the same as Vigol, although its name is not mentioned as Vigol in Tarikh-i Qum (Mashhadi Noushabadi, 2017: 36). Nevertheless, what attaches importance to Vigol is the presence of two castles in the east and west of the site, mainly referred to as two separate urban structures of the Sassanid period. Also, a Fire temple unearthed in the vicinity of the western site is a unique example of Sassanid art and architecture that emphasizes singlehandedly the position of Vigol among other sites that belong to this period (Javari, 2015: 87). But we can’t escape the fact the existence of this fire-temple caused other studies, including potteries, to be forgotten. So, there is no comprehensive study focusing on Vigol’s potsherds and their importance in understanding the typology, classification, and chronology of the Sassanid pottery. The only paper available that covers Vigol’s pottery is the one that exclusively studies 98 potsherds of the Sassanid period. Results show that Sassanid pottery includes a simple and unglazed type with shapes of all kinds such as bowls, bins, jars, vats, pots, flats, trays, lids, and handles, which are comparable with other Sassanid sites of the west, northeast, south, and the central plateau of Iran.
But this paper’s focus is on Vigol’s stamped pottery of the Sassanid period. Concerning this issue, we have chosen 49 potsherds with stamped motifs and analyzed them based on their piece and patterns. These potsherds mostly belong to the body of earthen wares, but some rims, necks, shoulders, and bases are also examined. Shapes such as necked jars, closed-mouth jars, bowls, and lids are also decorated with stamped patterns. These potsherds have dough in the buff, red and brown colors, they are wheel-made with a decent firing. The temper includes minerals such as fine and coarse gravel, sand, lime, mica, and quartz and plants such as straw. Considering motifs, we have divided potsherds into seven categories: heart-shaped, vegetal, circular, geometric, abstract, arch-shaped, and paisley patterns (Boteh). In general, these motifs form the basis of our current research, thus other measures such as shape have been avoided.

Discussion 
Studying Vigol’s potsherds shows that potters were particularly interested in this type of decoration and used it in all kinds of shapes. Many of the stamp motifs of this site have traces of the Sassanid period and are reminiscent of the religious-ritual beliefs and artistic interests that dominated this historical period. Motifs include heart-shaped, vegetal, circular, geometric, abstract, arch-shaped, and paisley patterns (Boteh), among which the usage and variety of abstract motifs and geometric motifs are more visible. Abstract motifs were used as decorative borders on the lower part of the rim or the body of the vessels. Geometric motifs are also usually borders with incised motifs in horizontal or vertical rows and are even scattered all over a potsherd. Also used in horizontal or vertical rows as a decorative border, are circulars which are among the other diverse motifs. In some cases, these motifs have been used in the frames of incised motifs in the body of an earthenware. Due to the similarity of these motifs to the sun or the lotus flower, they cannot be separated from the religious-ritual beliefs ruling the Sassanid period.
Motifs in small numbers such as heart-shaped, vegetal, arch-shaped, and Boteh, are important considering their content and similarity to other artistic and ritual aspects of the Sassanid period. Despite the common usage of heart-shaped motifs in other forms of art in the Sassanid period such as stucco design, reliefs, and garments, these motifs are among the diverse items of Vigol’s potsherds, and unique when we compare them with other Sassanid sites. These motifs also decorate pots in vertical and horizontal rows and share a similarity of designs with the stucco of well-known Sassanid sites of Barz-Qavale and Ctesiphon. Compared to other motifs, heart-shaped motifs are the only case that evokes the arts of the Sassanid period in such diversity. 
It must be admitted that most of the stamped motifs of Vigol are similar to the potsherds surveyed at other Sassanid sites. Thus, for a more reliable chronology, we have divided Sassanid sites into two categories: Sassanid sites of southeastern Tehran province, Chal Tarkhan of Ray, Qaleh-Gabri and Langi-rud of Qom located inside the area of survey; and sites like Qasri-Abu Nasr, Ctesiphon, Qal’eh-i Yazdigird and Mes-Aynak which are located in the outside. 
Some stamped motifs such as circular, vegetal, and several geometric motifs, are comparable to other motifs obtained from known Sassanid. But some other geometric motifs, vertical or horizontal rows of abstract motifs used in the decoration of earthenware, seem to have a local nature. Because a similar example of them has not been found among other common arts of the Sassanid period and sites with stamped motifs.

Conclusion
The Sassanid art is known to be overwhelmed with luxurious aspects and motifs that are represented in Stucco design, Reliefs, metalwork, and, textiles. However, looking into other artistic features of this period indicates a new and unique medium. To comprehend this topic, we need to study the pottery created during the Sassanid period. We should consider its artistic value and how it is affected by the religious and ritual practices of that time. Vigol is one of the Sassanid sites with a fire temple that is a representation of their influence and power. Potsherds related to this period show the importance of pottery and its decoration. Examining these samples shows that most of them are simple and unglazed with stamped decorations, the variety and abundance of which is remarkable. Also, stamped sherds of vigol pottery is inspired by other artistic motifs of this period, such as heart-shaped motifs. According to the available documents and studies, it can be said that pottery has been a more appropriate cultural material for performing roles than other decorative arts. The comparison of motifs found on Stamped samples shows that this type of decoration was not only in Vigol but also in other important Sassanid sites in Mesopotamia, Iran, and Afghanistan. However, in some cases, the decoration of Stamped in Vigol shows a special variety that distinguishes it from other examples in the Sassanid period. Further studies consisting of archaeological surveys and excavations will add to our knowledge regarding the production and variety of motifs of Stamped potteries.