3 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

A Circular Building with Six Towers of the Achaemenid Period discovered in Khorasan

Archaeologists have uncovered an almost circular adobe building with six towers, built in the 6th century BC, near Birjand in South Khorasan.

Excavations in the largely unexplored Khorasan began in 2009 and are one of the few excavations that have continued to the present day. In the east of Iran, only two archaeological sites had previously been excavated: Dahane-i Gholaman in Sistan to the south of Khorasan and Tappe Rivi in the north of Khorasan.

The site, called Tappe Takhchar-Abad is located near Birjand and on the edge of a barren plain; no contemporaneous and related sites have been identified. Since 2009, there have been four excavation seasons.

Tappe Takhchar-Abad sits on a semiconical hill, with a base diameter of 42 meters and a height of 4 meters, around which is a trench about 11 meters wide, with a canal to the northeast that supplied it with water.

After four seasons of excavation, the remnants of an almost circular building made of adobe and pisé (Chineh/pakhsa) with a diameter of eighteen meters, six solid towers, and walls as high as three meters were exposed.

Close-up of Tappe Takhchar-Abad: 1) the village; 2) the Tappe and the ditch surrounding it; 3) the diversion dam. Photo: Mohsen Dana et al. / Antiquity
Close-up of Tappe Takhchar-Abad: 1) the village; 2) the Tappe and the ditch surrounding it; 3) the diversion dam. Photo: Mohsen Dana et al. / Antiquity

This building was completely covered and intentionally filled with sand. Additionally, it was indicated by two soundings that this building was filled in two stages.Tests revealed that it was intentionally filled to a height of nearly 2 meters with alternating layers of broken or intact brick, sand, and stones.

The archaeologists wrote that the evidence shows that after the building was filled, some structures were built on top of it during the Parthian period.

Traditionally, circular sites have been attributed to the Parthian period, but recent evidence suggests that the construction of these buildings began in Greater Khorasan during the Achaemenid period, and that about 10 such sites were first identified and excavated in Bactria, east of Greater Khorasan.

The authors were able to divide and date the pottery found at Takhchar Abad into two periods. The Late Iron Age/Achaemenid period (seventh-sixth centuries BC) and the Parthian period (third-fourth centuries AD).

Photo: Mohsen Dana et al. / Antiquity

Takhchar Abad is similar to Garry Kyariz I, which is located 67 kilometers northwest of Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. It is a circular structure with eight semi-oval towers that was used from the Iron Age to the Achaemenid period.

The Achaemenid period lasted approximately 200 years (550–330 BC). The Achaemenid Empire ruled over the largest imperial region in antiquity, stretching from the river Syr Darya (in central Asia) to Egypt.

In terms of cultural materials, it is difficult to identify Achaemenid sites using surface materials such as pottery because the cultural materials of the Achaemenid period are very similar to those of previous periods.

These excavations in south Khorasan are expected to play an important role in the identification of Achaemenid-era buildings and shed new light on the history of this period.

Antiquity 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2024.42

Cover Photo: Mohsen Dana et al. / Antiquity

Related Articles

Neanderthals of the North

13 May 2022

13 May 2022

Were Neanderthals really as well adapted to life in the cold as previously assumed, or did they prefer more temperate...

Archaeologists Uncovered a Terracotta Commander and Warriors at the Mausoleum of China’s First Emperor

12 January 2025

12 January 2025

Archaeologists have unearthed a rare 2,000-year-old statue depicting a high-ranking military commander at the famous Terracotta Army site in China:...

New fibula types discovered at prehistoric Kopilo graves in Bosnia

26 August 2022

26 August 2022

An archaeological dig at Kopilo, a hill settlement founded around 1300 BC about 70 miles west of Sarajevo, has discovered...

Scotland’s oldest tartan discovered in Highlands bog

1 April 2023

1 April 2023

According to new research, a piece of fabric discovered in a bog in the Scottish Highlands may be the oldest...

2,300-Year-Old Gold Ring Reveals Jerusalem’s Hidden Hellenistic Rituals

27 May 2025

27 May 2025

A remarkable gold ring recently uncovered in Jerusalem is offering fresh insight into Hellenistic-era rituals, ancient jewelry traditions, and the...

Archaeologists Unearth 78,000-Year Oldest Human Burial

5 May 2021

5 May 2021

A 78,000-year-old group of bones discovered at the mouth of a Kenyan coastal cave constitutes the oldest recorded formal human...

Archaeologists Unearth Cisterns at Izmir’s Ancient “City of Mother Goddess”

2 June 2021

2 June 2021

In the ancient city of Metropolis, in western Turkey, in the province of Izmir, something that played an important role...

2500-year-old Aphrodite Temple Discovered

4 February 2021

4 February 2021

Archaeologists have discovered a 2500-year-old temple built in the name of Goddess Aphrodite around Çeşme and Urla districts of Izmir...

Long-Awaited Excavation to Commence at Mount Ararat ‘Noah’s Ark’ Site

9 May 2025

9 May 2025

The legendary search for Noah’s Ark, a tale that has captivated imaginations and spurred countless expeditions for generations, is poised...

Magical Roman Phallus Wind Chime Unearthed in Serbia

15 November 2023

15 November 2023

Archaeologists have unearthed a Roman phallus wind chime known as a tintinnabulum, during excavations at the ancient city of Viminacium...

Excavations at Sheffield Castle Reveal the First Surviving Examples of 17th-Century Civil War Abatis

9 March 2025

9 March 2025

Excavations at Sheffield Castle, part of the Castlegate regeneration project by Sheffield City Council, have revealed the first known surviving...

Beautiful’ Water-Nymph Marble Statue Found in Amastris ancient city

8 September 2023

8 September 2023

Excavations in the ancient city of Amastris, located in the Black Sea province of Bartın’s Amasra district, have unearthed a...

3000-year-old clay figurine discovered in Germany may be a prehistoric water goddess

14 July 2022

14 July 2022

Archaeologists have discovered a rare clay figurine thought to represent a prehistoric water goddess in the Schweinfurt region of Germany....

A rare 3,300-year-old wooden yoke found in northern Italy

30 October 2023

30 October 2023

After eight years of complex excavation, recovery, and restoration, a rare 3,300-year-old wooden yoke discovered in a Late Bronze Age...

New study: Humans engaged in large-scale warfare in Europe 5,000 years ago ‘1,000 years earlier than previously thought’

3 November 2023

3 November 2023

Hundreds of human remains unearthed from a burial site point to a  warfare between Stone Age people long before the...