2 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Archaeologists discovered the first evidence of early administrative management in eastern Iran

Iranian archaeologists believe they have discovered the first evidence of early administrative management in an eastern Iranian province, which they think will provide fresh information about the people who lived there 6,000 years ago.

The discovery was made during the third archaeological excavation season which is currently underway in Kale-Kub, which is situated in Sarayan county of South Khorasan province.

Kale Kub is a prehistoric site that is located in Ayask town, in Sarayan District, South Khorasan Province, eastern Iran.

This exploration is very important because Eastern Iran, especially in the prehistoric period, is a completely unknown region on the Iranian archaeological map. More than one hundred years after the beginning of archaeological excavations in Iran, the eastern regions have received little or no attention from archaeologists for various reasons, and there are very limited publications as well.

Kale-Kub
An appearance in Kale-Kub.

“More than ten days after the start of the excavation, we found remnants of industrial architecture, adobe brick walls, and potteries, which offer evidence of social complexity and an administrative management system,” CHTN quoted archaeologist Mohammad-Hossein Azizi Kharanaghi as saying recently.

Kale-Kub is one of the few historical sites in the region that has archeological evidence of the sequences of different cultures from the fifth to the second millennium BC, Azizi Kharanaghi, who leads the survey, explained.

Referring to previous excavations of the site, the archaeologist has said: “In 2018, two trenches were opened to identify the stratigraphy of the high amount of beveled rim bowls in addition to other pottery styles belongs to fourth millennium BC which are already known in southwestern Iran.”

The archaeologist hopes their studies would clarify the importance of the Kale-Kub site for identifying the dispersal zone of “Beveled rim bowl pottery style” through the classification and typology of the discovered potteries and then a comparison between the pottery style in this site with other sites related to this period.

An appearance in Kale-Kub.
An appearance in Kale-Kub.

“Also, we attempt to trace the possible routes for this pottery style to the East and the interaction between the east and west of Iran. Pottery collection from the excavation in Kale-Kub includes a high amount of beveled rim bowls, Banesh tray, and some other pottery styles which are well-known from the fourth millennium BC such as nose handle and spouted wares.”

In modern Iran, these pottery styles are reported from the southwest, central Zagros, central plateau, and southeast.  Experts believe findings in Kale-Kub show the extension of this culture to the east part of Iran.

The late 4th millennium BCE Mesopotamian beveled rimmed bowl is: a crude piece of pottery easily cupped in two hands and has straight sides that terminate in a beveled rim. Bevel-rimmed bowls (abbreviated BRB) are unsightly, sturdy, and inexpensively constructed, as they are created with a mold rather than a wheel. Because of the coarseness of the pottery, the bowl is porous and will not hold liquid. Their size is surprisingly stable.

An example from the beveled-rimmed bowl. Photo: Wikipedia

Beveled rim bowls are supposed to have been used to measure portions of barley and oil. The rations would be given as payment to laborers for services rendered. Moreover, Beveled rim bowls are one of the most iconic ceramic types found during the Uruk period in Mesopotamia.

Inter-regional interactions had a significant effect on the movement of raw material and production in the extended area. Because of the geographical situation of Kale-Kub in the east of Iran and the existence of metal mines in the region, this site possibly appeared as a supplier place in the interaction networks for the southwest of Iran during the fourth millennium BC.

These cultural evidences, which can be considered to belong to the Susa II horizon or late Uruk cultures, include the typical pottery of this period, such as bevelled rim bowls, rough Banesh trays, tubular and nose handle jars, and fine and painted wheel-made pottery, which is well known in the south-western, western, north-western, south-eastern regions and central plateau of Iran, but which have now been identified and introduced for the first time in eastern Iran.

 On this site, three cultural periods have been identified so far. They have been classified from the bottom level and the top of the virgin soil are 1: KALE KUB I (Chalcolithic period, fifth millennium BCE), 2: KALE KUB II (Susa II horizon, fourth millennium BCE), and 3: KALE KUB III (Bronze age, third and second millennia BCE).

AFM

Related Articles

World’s Oldest Murder

14 February 2021

14 February 2021

Researchers found a mass grave in a cave in Spain, now known as Sima de los Huesos, or the Pit...

Discovery of immense 4,000-year-old fortifications surrounding the Khaybar Oasis, one of the longest-known Oasis

10 January 2024

10 January 2024

Archaeologists have recently made a groundbreaking discovery in northwestern Arabia, unearthing immense fortifications that date back an astonishing 4,000 years....

A Lynx Buried with Four Big Dogs in an Ancient Roman Well in Hungary

17 April 2024

17 April 2024

Archaeologists have discovered the skeleton of an adult male lynx accompanied by four big dogs in a Roman-era pit in...

An Ancient Building and Gold Artifacts Found in the Ancient Greek City of Rypes in Achaea

10 December 2024

10 December 2024

Recent excavations on the Trapezá plateau, eight kilometers southwest of the city of Aigio in the Peloponnese, have uncovered an...

Bom Jesus: The Oldest and Most Valuable Shipwreck Found in the Namibian Desert

20 March 2025

20 March 2025

In a remarkable archaeological discovery, the Bom Jesus (The Good Jesus), a Portuguese ship that sank over 500 years ago,...

In the new images, Scotland’s biggest Pictish fort is “reconstructed.’

2 November 2021

2 November 2021

Stunning new reconstructions have revealed how Scotland’s largest known Pictish fort may have looked over one thousand years ago. Three-dimensional...

Egyptian archaeologists found 110 ancient tombs in the Nile Delta

28 April 2021

28 April 2021

The Tourism and Antiquities Ministry announced Tuesday that Egyptian archaeologists had discovered 110 burial tombs on the Nile Delta dating...

The Discovery of a Historic Wooden Shipwreck in the North Sea

27 January 2025

27 January 2025

A section of a wooden shipwreck was uncovered near Rantum, a coastal village located on the island of Sylt in...

What Did Mummies Smell Like in Ancient Egypt? The Surprisingly Pleasant Results Revealed

1 April 2025

1 April 2025

A groundbreaking study led by researchers from University College London’s Institute for Sustainable Heritage and the University of Ljubljana has...

Ancient tools discovered in Maryland show the first humans came to America 7,000 years earlier than previously thought

23 May 2024

23 May 2024

When and how humans first settled in the Americas is a subject of considerable controversy. A Smithsonian Institution geologist now...

Terracotta Figurines of the ancient cult of the goddess Cybele discovered in Pompeii Domus

26 December 2023

26 December 2023

Archaeologists unearthed 13 terracotta figurines during recent excavations in the Domus adjacent to the “House of Leda and the Swan”...

Whispers of Time: Exploring the Enigmatic Bronze Age Towers of Oman

24 February 2025

24 February 2025

The ancient Bronze Age towers scattered across Oman, dating back nearly 5,000 years, have long been a subject of curiosity...

Archaeologists Found an Egyptian Temple Slotted into a Cliff Face, Probably Dedicated to a Lion-Headed Goddess Repit

15 December 2024

15 December 2024

Archaeologists have uncovered a hidden gateway leading to a 2,100-year-old temple built into a cliff face at the ancient city...

Archaeologists Uncovered a 1,600-Year-Old Rare Mikveh and Synagogue in Ostia Antica, Near Rome

13 March 2025

13 March 2025

In a remarkable archaeological discovery, researchers have unearthed a 1,600-year-old rare mikveh (ritual bath) and an ancient synagogue at the...

Archaeologists Unearth Monumental Relief Depicting Assyrian King and Major Deities in Ancient Nineveh

15 May 2025

15 May 2025

A team of archaeologists from Heidelberg University has made an extraordinary discovery in the ancient city of Nineveh, near modern-day...