Ancient Arms Race: Antiquity's Largest Fortresses and Sasanian Military Networks of Northern Iran: A joint fieldwork project by the Iranian Center for Archaeological Research, the Research Institute of Cultural Heritage and Tourism and the University of Edinburgh

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Book Title
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Contents
Volume 1
Acknowledgements
Section A: Preliminaries
Chapter 1. Introduction
1.1. An ancient arms race – shaping world history to the present day?
1.2. Scope and context of the project
Section B: Terrestrial excavations and survey
Chapter 2. Sasanian landscapes of the Gorgan Plain: new insights from remote sensing and field survey
2.1. Introduction
2.2. The Gorgan Wall Survey 2014–2016
2.3. Sasanian site types: geometric fortified sites
2.3.1. Geometric fortified enclosures over 6 ha
2.3.2. Geometric fortified enclosures of 2–6 ha
2.3.3. Geometric enclosures of 1 ha or less
2.4. Sasanian rural settlements: intensive survey at GWS-79
2.5. Investigations of features in the vicinity of Gorgan Wall Forts
2.6. Hydrological features associated with the Gorgan Wall and geometric fortified sites
2.7. Conclusion
Chapter 3. The Gorgan Wall
3.1. Introduction
3.2. The Gorgan Wall Bridge and a Sasanian reservoir between Forts 2A and 2
3.2.1. Sasanian hydraulic installations in the Sari Su River Valley
3.2.2. A new section of the Gorgan Wall, discovered by geophysical and pedestrian survey, leading towards a bridge
3.2.3. The Gorgan Wall Bridge (Trench b)
3.2.4. Bridge design
3.2.5. Protecting the bridge from erosion
3.2.6. Alluvial deposits and circumstantial evidence for a Sasanian barrage and reservoir in the Sari Su River
3.2.7. Chronology
3.2.8. The purpose of the reservoir
3.2.9. Brick robbing and sedimentation in post-Sasanian times
3.3. Drone survey of the Gorgan Wall
Chapter 4. Forts on the Gorgan Wall
4.1. Fort 2
4.1.1. Introduction
4.1.2. Remote, pedestrian, magnetometer and topographical survey of Fort 2
4.1.2.1. The fort defences
4.1.2.2. Interior occupation
4.1.2.3. Results
4.1.3. Excavation of an interval tower of Fort 2 (Trench c)
4.1.4. The barracks in Fort 2 (Trench d)
4.1.4.1. Introduction
4.1.4.2. Construction and layout of the barracks, phase 1 (Trench d)
4.1.4.2.1. The original barracks
4.1.4.2.2. Attempted quantification of mud-bricks needed for barracks construction
4.1.4.2.3. Barracks extension via annexes
4.1.4.3. Chronology of barracks construction and occupation in Trench d
4.1.4.4. The history of occupation of the barrack rooms
4.1.4.4.1. The original barracks: rows 2 and 3
4.1.4.4.1.1. The western row of rooms (2) in the original barracks
4.1.4.4.1.2. The eastern row of rooms (3) in the original barracks
4.1.4.4.1.3. Characteristics of the original barracks (rows 2 and 3)
4.1.4.4.2. The western annexe: rows 0 and 1
4.1.4.4.2.1. The eastern row of rooms (1) in the western annexe
4.1.4.4.2.2. The western row of rooms (0) in the western annexe
4.1.4.4.3. The eastern annexe: rows 4 and 5
4.1.4.4.3.1. The western row of rooms (4) in the eastern annexe
4.1.4.4.3.2. The eastern row of rooms (5) in the eastern annexe
4.1.4.4.4. The area outdoors to the west of the barracks
4.1.4.4.5. The area outdoors to the east of the barracks
4.1.4.5. Life in Sasanian barracks on the Gorgan Wall
4.1.4.5.1. Heating and cooking in Sasanian barracks
4.1.4.5.2. Food storage
4.1.4.5.2.1. Storage pits
4.1.4.5.2.2. Storage vessels and possible reforms in provisioning the army
4.1.4.5.3. Finds distribution over space and time
4.1.4.6. The chronology of Fort 2’s occupation (Trench d)
4.1.4.6.1. The start of occupation
4.1.4.6.2. The end of occupation
4.1.4.6.3. Occupation density over time
4.2. Barracks in Fort 15
4.3. Barracks in Fort 25
4.4. Barracks in Fort 26
4.5. Geophysical survey at a compound on the north side of the Great Wall: GWS-65 near Fort 28
4.6. Remote survey of forts along the Great Wall
4.6.1. Introduction
4.6.2. Satellite survey
4.6.3. Drone survey
Chapter 5. The Tammisheh Wall and associated forts
5.1. Introduction
5.2. Underwater survey of a submerged fort
5.3. Remote survey of the Tammisheh Wall
Chapter 6. Post-Sasanian barriers
6.1. The Jar-e Kulbad Earthwork: a basic clone of the Tammisheh Wall, decisive in modern warfare
6.2. The Forud Wall near Kalat in Khorasan Meysam Labbaf-Khaniki, Eberhard W. Sauer, Kristen Hopper, Davit Naskidashvili, Bardia Shabani and David Gagoshidze
6.2.1. The Forud Wall
6.2.2. The Arg-e Forud
6.2.3. Pedestrian and aerial survey of the Forud Wall
6.2.4. A sondage within the Arg-e Forud (Trench j)
6.2.5. A sondage within a watchtower on the Forud Wall (Trench k)
6.2.6. The date, historical context and function of the barriers around Kalat
6.3. The valley of Landar Meysam Labbaf-Khaniki and Kristen Hopper
6.4. Walls, towers and a fort or caravanserai at Mozdouran Meysam Labbaf-Khaniki, Kristen Hopper and Eberhard W. Sauer
Chapter 7. Hinterland forts
7.1. Forts on the Gorgan Plain
7.2. Buraq Tappeh
7.2.1. Buraq Tappeh: siting and research potential of a strategic guard-post
7.2.2. Geophysical survey
7.2.3. Aerial and pedestrian survey
7.2.4. A sondage at Buraq Tappeh (Trench g)
7.2.4.1. Introduction
7.2.4.2. Fort construction and the architecture of interior buildings
7.2.4.3. Early occupation within the fort
7.2.4.4. Levelling and living on higher ground
7.2.4.5. Oven construction
7.2.4.6. A new fireplace as a focus for domestic activities
7.2.4.7. Temporary site abandonment and decay?
7.2.4.8. Reoccupation with a reduced garrison living nearby?
7.2.4.9. Latest occupation and renewed oven construction
7.2.4.10. Disturbed horizons above the abandoned fort
7.2.4.11. Garrison size
7.2.4.12. History and chronology of Buraq Tappeh’s occupation
7.3. Habib Ishan: a hinterland fortification with a corner citadel?
7.4. Forts on the Old Gorgan River: parts of a Sasanian defensive network? The purpose of the Sasanian forts south of the Great Wall
Chapter 8. Campaign bases
8.1. Introduction
8.2. Qal‘eh Pol Gonbad-e Kavus: the largest Sasanian fortress on the Gorgan Plain
8.2.1. Introduction and comparative analysis of Qal‘eh Pol Gonbad-e Kavus and other campaign bases
8.2.2. The towered and gated walls
8.2.3. The moat
8.2.4. Surface scatter of finds
8.2.5. Geophysical survey
8.2.6. A section through the defences (Trench a)
8.2.7. The stratigraphy of the ditch system
8.2.8. The earliest ditches (1–4)
8.2.9. The fifth ditch
8.2.10. The sixth ditch
8.2.11. The seventh ditch
8.2.12. The Sasanian-era topsoil and land surface
8.2.13. The wall
8.2.14. Dimensions of the defences in phase 1
8.2.15. The modern field boundary ditches
8.2.16. The date of Qal‘eh Pol Gonbad-e Kavus
8.3. Gabri Qal‘eh: from Sasanian campaign base to Ilkhanid town
8.3.1. Introduction and topographical survey
8.3.2. Geophysical survey
8.3.3. A busy bazaar street in a medieval town (Trench e)
8.3.4. The causewayed access to Sasanian and medieval Gabri Qal‘eh (Trench f)
8.3.5. Gabri Qal‘eh’s origins and significance
8.4. Qal‘eh Kharabeh
8.4.1. Geophysical survey
8.4.2. Drone survey
8.4.3. Recalibration of radiocarbon samples
8.5. Campaign bases on the Gorgan Plain
Chapter 9. Qal‘eh Iraj: a campaign base/command centre of the army’s northern division? Mahdi Mousavinia, Mohammadreza Nemati and Eberhard W. Sauer
9.1. Introduction
9.2. Excavations within the south-eastern gate
9.2.1. The first field seasons
9.2.2. Dating the fortress: excavations within the south-eastern gateway in 2016
9.2.2.1. Excavations in the gateway (Trench h)
9.2.2.2. A side chamber of the south-eastern gate (Trench i)
9.3. Geophysical survey
9.3.1. Introduction
9.3.2. Site A
9.3.3. Sites B–D
9.4. New insights into the fortress’s history of occupation: excavations on the southern fortress
9.4.1. Introduction
9.4.2. Trench F128
9.4.3. Trench F129
9.4.4. Trench G129
9.4.5. Discussion
9.5. The chronology of Qal‘eh Iraj
9.6. Qal‘eh Iraj: nerve centre of northern Persia’s defensive network?
Chapter 10. A Sasanian city: fire temple, brick pillar avenues and residential quarters: geophysical and aerial surveys at Dasht Qal‘eh
10.1. Introduction
10.2. Remote surveys
10.3. A fire temple
10.4. Roads and residential quarters
10.5. The region’s capital?
Section C: Marine survey
Chapter 11. Discovering unknown sections of the Great Wall of Gorgan near the shores of the Caspian Sea C. Richard Bates, Martin R. Bates and Hamid Omrani Rekavandi
11.1. Introduction
11.2. Aims of the survey
11.3. Methodology
11.4. Results
11.4.1. Survey results near the westernmost known location of the Gorgan Wall and the associated ditch (section 1)
11.4.2. Geophysical survey of remains of the Gorgan Wall and its associated ditch exposed in an irrigation trench
11.4.3. Survey results (section 2)
11.4.4. Survey results (section 3)
11.5. A bathymetric and sub-bottom investigation in the Caspian Sea across the alignment of the Gorgan Wall
11.5.1. Introduction
11.5.2. Sidescan sonar
11.5.3. Sub-bottom profiling
11.5.4. Results
11.6. Discussion
Chapter 12. A bathymetric and sub-bottom investigation of the Tammisheh Wall’s northernmost section submerged in the Caspian Sea C. Richard Bates, Hamid Omrani Rekavandi and Hossein Tofighian
12.1. Introduction
12.2. Aims of the survey
12.3. Methodology
12.4. Results
12.4.1. The site
12.4.2. Seafloor bathymetry
12.4.3. Sidescan sonar
12.4.4. Sub-bottom profiling
12.5. Discussion
Chapter 13. Palaeoenvironments at the Caspian terminals of the Gorgan and the Tammisheh Walls Suzanne A.G. Leroy, François Demory, Françoise Chalié, Martin Bates, C. Richard Bates, Hamid Omrani Rekavandi, Eberhard W. Sauer and Paula J. Reimer
13.1. Setting and aims
13.2. Previous palynological studies
13.3. Material and methods
13.3.1. Fieldwork and core description
13.3.2. Magnetic susceptibility
13.3.3. Palynology
13.3.4. Radiocarbon dating
13.4. Results
13.4.1. Western end of the Gorgan Wall
13.4.2. The vicinity of the northern end of the Tammisheh Wall
13.5. Interpretation
13.5.1. Western terminal of the Gorgan Wall
13.5.2. The vicinity of the northern terminal of the Tammisheh Wall
13.6. Caspian Sea level changes from pre-Sasanian to early modern times
13.6.1. The era preceding wall construction
13.6.2. Sasanian-period walls and the lowstand of the Caspian Sea
13.6.3. From the late Sasanian era to the Early Middle Ages
13.6.4. Medieval and Little Ice Age flooding
13.7. The coastal environment in Sasanian times
13.7.1. The Gorgan Wall west of the S2-V3 sequence
13.7.2. Vegetation at the time of the walls and later
13.8. Conclusion
Title, Contents and Dedication in Persian
Volume 2
Acknowledgements
Section D: Specialist contributions: written documents, finds, building materials, biological and environmental evidence and scientific dating
Chapter 14. Ostraca and bullae from Qal‘eh Iraj
14.1. Introduction
14.2. Catalogue
14.3. Conclusion
Chapter 15. Comparative studies of the Sasanian ceramics from forts on the Great Wall of Gorgan and fortifications in its hinterland Maria Daghmehchi, Seth M.N. Priestman, Gabriele Puschnigg, Jebrael Nokandeh, Emanuele E. Intagliata, Hamid Omrani Rekavandi and Eberhard W. Sauer
15.1. Preliminaries
15.1.1. Abstract
15.1.2. Introduction
15.2. Material and methods
15.3. Classification
15.3.1. Physical characterisation of the Sasanian period ceramics
15.3.2. Firing groups of the ceramics
15.3.3. Petrographic characterisation of the ceramics
15.3.3.1. Coarse wares (western part of the Gorgan Wall and Buraq Tappeh)
15.3.3.2. Coarse wares (eastern part of the Gorgan Wall, Fort 2)
15.3.4. Typological characterisation of the ceramics
15.3.4.1. Medium closed form
15.3.4.1.1. Neckless jars
15.3.4.1.2. Coarse fabric neckless jars
15.3.4.1.3. Trefoil-mouthed jugs
15.3.4.2. Large closed forms
15.3.4.2.1. One-handled jars with narrow tall straight necks
15.3.4.2.2. Storage jars
15.3.4.2.3. Cooking pots
15.3.4.3. Small open forms
15.3.4.3.1. Bowls
15.3.5. Alternative quantitative method
15.4. Sites explored
15.4.1. Sari Su Bridge (Trench b) Emanuele E. Intagliata
15.4.2. Fort 2 (Trenches c and d; eastern part of the Great Wall of Gorgan)
15.4.2.1. Materials and methods
15.4.2.2. Ceramic assemblages from the barrack rooms (Trench d): a clue to their function
15.4.2.3. Changes in the ceramic assemblage from the barrack rooms (Trench d) over time
15.4.2.4. Results and discussion
15.4.3. Buraq Tappeh (Trench g)
15.4.4. Qa‘leh Pol Gonbad-e Kavus (Trench a) Emanuele E. Intagliata
15.4.5. Gabri Qal‘eh (Trenches e and f)
15.4.6. Qal‘eh Iraj
15.5. Comparative studies
15.5.1. Contemporary ceramics from forts on the Gorgan Wall and the fortifications in its hinterland
15.5.2. Contemporary ceramics from neighbouring regions
15.6. Conclusion
15.7. Chemical and vibrational spectroscopic analyses of similar types of vessels from forts on the Great Wall of Gorgan and fortifications in its hinterland Maria Daghmehchi, Behrouz Karimi Shahraki, Hadi Omrani, Masumeh Madanipour, Arianit A. Reka, Jebrael Nokandeh, Hamid Omrani Rekavandi, Mohammadamin Emami and Eberhard W. Sauer
15.7.1. Introduction
15.7.1.1. Outline
15.7.1.2. Background
15.7.2. Materials and methods
15.7.3. Petrographic characterisation
15.7.4. Chemical compositions of mineral grains and clayey paste
15.7.4.1. Chemical analysis
15.7.4.2. FTIR analysis
15.7.4.3. TGA-DTA and XRD analyses
15.7.5. Conclusion
15.8. Appendix: pottery from the 2017 season at Qal‘eh Iraj Mohammadreza Nemati and Mahdi Mousavinia
Chapter 16. Glass Fiona Anne Mowat and Tim Penn
16.1. Introduction
16.2. Assemblage overview
16.3. Fabric classes
16.3.1. Blue-green
16.3.2. Blue
16.3.3. Green
16.3.4. Yellow, amber and brown
16.3.5. Opaque fabrics
16.3.6. Colourless fabrics
16.3.7. Indeterminate fabrics
16.4. Securely dated vessels
16.5. Findspots and distribution
Chapter 17. Vessel glass: an archaeometric approach Mohammadamin Emami and Farahnaz Bayat Nejad
17.1. Introduction
17.2. Materials and methods
17.2.1. Analytical methods
17.2.1.1. Wavelength X-ray fluorescence (WXRF)
17.2.1.2. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
17.2.1.3. Simultaneous thermal analysis (STA)
17.2.2. The sample
17.3. Results and discussion
17.3.1. WXRF analysis of bulk chemical composition
17.3.2. Microstructural analysis through scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
17.3.3. Simultaneous thermal analysis (STA)
17.4. Conclusion
Chapter 18. Small objects and other finds Eberhard W. Sauer, St John Simpson, Mahdi Jahed, Mohaddeseh Mansouri Razi, Marzieh Moslehi, Mohammadreza Nemati, Jebrael Nokandeh, Hamid Omrani Rekavandi, Tim Penn and Alireza Salari
18.1. Introduction
18.2. Weapons
18.3. Tools
18.3.1. Knives and other personal implements
18.3.2. Whetstones
18.3.3. Grinding stones
18.3.4. Metal vessels
18.3.5. Textile production
18.4. Beads Tim Penn
18.4.1. Introduction, materials, style and chronology
18.4.2. Spatial distribution, chronology and significance
18.5. Other items of personal adornment, dress and furniture fittings
18.6. Building materials
18.7. Coins
18.8. Miscellaneous objects, slag and metal debris
18.9. Prehistoric stone tools
Chapter 19. Lime mortars from the Gorgan Wall Bridge over the Sari Su River Martina Astolfi and Riley Snyder
19.1. Introduction
19.2. Materials and methods
19.2.1. The samples
19.2.2. Petrographic analyses of polished sections
19.2.3. XRF analysis
19.3. Discussion
19.4. Conclusion
Chapter 20. Archaeozoology of Sasanian and Islamic sites from the Gorgan Wall to the Tehran Plain Marjan Mashkour, Roya Khazaeli, Solmaz Amiri, Homa Fathi, Sanaz Beizaee Doost, Azadeh Mohaseb, Karyne Debue, Valentin Radu, Hossein Davoudi, Antoine Ruchonnet, Haeedeh Laleh, Jebrael Nokandeh, Hamid Omrani Rekavandi, Mohammadreza Nemati and Eberhard W. Sauer
20.1. Introduction
20.2. Material and methods
20.2.1. Quantification and taphonomy
20.2.2. Biometry
20.2.3. Demographic analysis
20.3. Consumption practices and animal use at Sasanian and later sites from the Gorgan to the Tehran Plain
20.3.1. Fort 2
20.3.2. The Gorgan Wall Bridge over the Sari Su River
20.3.3. Gabri Qal‘eh
20.3.4. Qal‘eh Pol Gonbad-e Kavus
20.3.5. Buraq Tappeh
20.3.6. Qal‘eh Iraj
20.4. Species represented
20.4.1. The morphology of sheep, goat and cattle populations
20.4.1.1. Introduction 661
20.4.1.2. Sheep
20.4.1.3. Goats
20.4.1.4. Cattle
20.4.2. Suids and their status at Fort 2
20.4.3. Equid remains
20.4.3.1. Teeth
20.4.3.2. Metacarpals and radius
20.4.3.3. Horse remains: potential evidence for cavalry at Fort 2?
20.4.4. Bird remains
20.4.5. Fish remains Valentin Radu, Marjan Mashkour and Eberhard W. Sauer
20.5. The age at death of sheep and goats
20.6. Craft activities
20.7. Conclusion
20.8. Appendices
20.8.1. Appendix 1: Measurements
20.8.1.1. Appendix 1.1: Measurements for Ovis (sheep)
20.8.1.2. Appendix 1.2: Measurements for Capra (goat)
20.8.1.3. Appendix 1.3: Measurements for Caprini (sheep/goat)
20.8.1.4. Appendix 1.4: Measurements for Bos (cattle) 684
20.8.1.5. Appendix 1.5: Measurements for Sus scrofa (pig/boar)
20.8.1.6. Appendix 1.6: Measurements for Equidae (equids)
20.8.2. Appendix 2: Comparative sites
20.8.3. Appendix 3: Statistical test for suid teeth
20.8.4. Appendix 4: Caprini (sheep/goat) tooth age attribution
Chapter 21. Palaeoenvironment Lyudmila Shumilovskikh, Felix Bittmann, Brigitte Talon, Daniela Paetzold and Catriona Pickard
21.1. Woodland use: the evidence from anthracological analysis Lyudmila Shumilovskikh and Brigitte Talon
21.1.1. Introduction
21.1.2. Materials and methods
21.1.3. Results
21.1.3.1. Introduction
21.1.3.2. Fort 2 (Trench d)
21.1.3.3. Buraq Tappeh (Trench g)
21.1.3.4. Qal‘eh Iraj (Trench i)
21.1.3.5. Forud Wall (Trench k)
21.1.4. Discussion
21.1.5. Conclusion
21.2. Archaeobotanical studies on the Gorgan Plain Lyudmila Shumilovskikh, Felix Bittmann and Daniela Paetzold
21.2.1. Introduction
21.2.2. Materials and methods
21.2.3. Results and discussion
21.2.3.1. Qal‘eh Pol Gonbad-e Kavus (Trench a)
21.2.3.2. Gorgan Wall Bridge over the Sari Su River (Trench b)
21.2.3.3. Fort 2 (Trench d)
21.2.3.4. Gabri Qal’eh (Trench e)
21.2.3.5. Gabri Qal‘eh (Trench f)
21.2.3.6. Buraq Tappeh (Trench g)
21.2.3.7. Qal‘eh Iraj (Trench i)
21.2.3.8. Forud Wall (Trench k)
21.3. Vegetation history of the Gorgan Plain: the evidence from palynological analysis at Lake Kongor Lyudmila Shumilovskikh
21.3.1. Introduction
21.3.2. Geographical setting
21.3.3. Palaeoecological records from Kongor
21.3.4. Human impact, climate and landscape change
21.3.4.1. Climate
21.3.4.2. Forest cover
21.3.4.3. Agriculture and arboriculture
21.3.4.4. Pasture
21.3.4.5. Fire
21.4. Molluscs Catriona Pickard and Lyudmila Shumilovskikh
Chapter 22. Archaeomagnetic studies of features excavated along the Gorgan Wall Cathy M. Batt, David P. Greenwood and Tehreem Kainaat
22.1. Abstrac
22.2. Introduction
22.3. Background
22.4. Archaeomagnetic sampling in the field
22.4.1. Qal‘eh Pol Gonbad-e Kavus
22.4.2. Sari Su Valley: alluvial deposits
22.4.3. Sari Su Valley: stream channels
22.4.4. Fort 2: oven d.010
22.4.5. Fort 2: oven d.114
22.4.6. Fort 2: oven d.169
22.5. Archaeomagnetic measurements
22.5.1. Sample preparation
22.5.2. Measurement procedures
22.6. Results
22.6.1. Sediments
22.6.2. Fired materials
22.7. Interpretation of the archaeomagnetic results and comparison with the global geomagnetic field model
22.8. Previous archaeomagnetic studies in the region
22.9. Summary and conclusion
22.10. Further work
Chapter 23. Luminescence dating and micromorphological assessment Lisa Snape and Ian Bailiff
23.1. Introduction
23.1.1. Samples
23.1.2. OSL background
23.2. Methodology
23.2.1. Field sampling
23.2.2. OSL measurements
23.2.3. Micromorphology
23.3. Results
23.3.1. OSL Age
23.3.2. Micromorphology
23.4. Discussion
Section E: History
Chapter 24. New light on Sasanian military infrastructure
24.1. Introduction
24.2. Flexible strategies: distribution of different types of defences
24.3. Learning from the past, adopting provincial traditions: the ancient world’s largest fortresses, inspired by Central Asian architecture
24.4. Evolution of the ancient world’s grandest fortification programme
24.5. Sasanian and Roman troop numbers and capabilities
24.6. An ancient arms race
24.7. Royal control of imperial defence
24.8. Purpose and effectiveness of fortifying the empire
24.9. The Sasanian army’s legacy
24.10. Pax Sasanica
Section F: Conclusion and bibliography
Conclusion
Acknowledgements
Preliminaries
Terrestrial excavations and survey
Marine survey
Written documents, finds, building materials, biological and environmental evidence and scientific dating
History
Bibliography
Title, Contents, Dedication, Acknowledgements and Conclusion in Persian
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