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  Khaveh plain in the township of Delfan is considered as one of the important plains in the Central Zagros Mountain situated in Eastern Pusht-i Kuh and located between Garin and Sefid-e Kooh Mountains. In general, 36 archeological sites have so far been identified in this plain: the oldest of which relates to aceramic Neolithic Age, and the newest one belongs to the Late-Islamic Age. Among them, 20 sites contain relics related to the Parthian Period. The noteworthy discussions in the present study are mainly based on the activities performed at this plain during 2009-2010 in order to register and determine the boarders of archeological sites, and those carried out in 2011 aiming to identify and analyze the settlement patterns of the Parthian reign in this region. General perception and understanding of the settlement pattern in this region during the Parthian period is the results of this research, which represents demographic or settlement dispersion changes compared with the previous eras. Also it became clear that most of the settlements in the region were small villages or temporary settlements and no evidence of urban centers was recognized. Finally, the present study deals with the investigation and interpretation of the settlement patterns of the Parthian period in this plain.    

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A Study on the Pictures of the Gods, Deities and Greek Goddesses on Seleucid and Parthian Seals and Seal Impressions Abstract With the fall of the Achaemenid Empire and the arrival of the Greeks in Asia, vast changes occurred in all aspects of life in the countries conquered by Alexander and his successors. These changes can be seen in different shapes in all social, political, cultural, art architecture aspects and even in religious beliefs. Seleucid and Parthian seals and seal expressions clearly show such changes. The mythological and religious pictures include Hellenistic themes such as images of Deities, Gods and Greek Goddesses. The most famous of these designs are Athena, Aphrodite, Zeus, Apollo, Tikkeh (Tikheh), Hermes, Eros, Nike (god of victory) and the god of justice. The samples were taken from centers such as Seleucia on the Tigris , Tel Kedesh, Uruk, Nisa and Saleh Davoude Khuzestan. The presence of these elements on the seals is not identical due to different demographics and the influence of Greek culture. In this paper, the effect of the Greek ideology on belief evolution in conquered territories were comparatively studied by evaluation of seals and seal Impressions. The seals and seal Impressions are historical materials whose pictures can clearly reflect the levels and trends of the changes. Keywords: Seleucid and Parthian periods, Seal and seal Impressions, Greek gods and Goddesses, Hellenism.

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Khanghah Gilvan cemetery is located in Khalkhal, in the Iranian province of Ardebil. This cemetery came into light during a highway construction project in Khanghah village. Until now, three archeological excavations, under the author’s supervision, have been carried out in this cemetery that has resulted in burials from the Middle Bronze Age up to Parthian period.   Among the excavated burials, four of them belong to the Parthian period. These burials are pit graves containing gifts such as potteries, bronze and iron materials, metal ornaments and beads with different forms. Grave usually containing single body had different conditions such as open or closed burials in different directions. Samples of pit graves of Parthian period, apart from Khanghah Gilvan cemetery, have also been discovered at Sad Eskandar in Gorgan, Sang Shir at Hamadan, Cheshmeh Sar at Takht-e-Jamshid and Vaskeh cemetery. The burial samples with open-pit were prevalent during Parthian period that apart from Khanghah Gilvan cemetery have also found at Sang Shir tepe at Hamadan, Kangavar, and Cemetery at Susa, Cheshmeh Sar at Takht-e-Jamshid, Sad Eskander at Gorgan, Veskeh and Mianrud in Talesh. Likewise, samples showing closed-pit burials of Parthian period, apart from Khanghah Gilvan cemetery, have also found at Sang Shir at Hamadan, Kangavar, Tagh Bostan, Germi, Vaskeh and Mianrud cemetery.

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The archaeological site of Afalleh is located in the north of Khachak village, in the intermountain plain of Kojour, in southern end of Nowshahr District, Mazandaran Province. Drawing on the available evidence, the site is dated to the Parthian period. Afalleh is clearly an archaeo- metallurgical center in the area, and by virtue of its relatively large size (more than 5 ha) might be one of the most significant and/or important archaeo- metallurgical sites of the Parthian period in the entire region. Large and dense scatters of slag and kiln wasters, especially in southern and western quadrants, hint at extensive and/or long-termed archaeo- metallurgical activities at the site. The surface slag could be divided into two groups of sponge and dense with a dark color near to black. Most slags are seen on southern part of the site. A stone building is partially exposed in western side of the site, where a dirt road has cut a part of the archaeological deposits. Macroscopic and microscopic analyses indicate that the slags are rich of fayalite and wustite, ferrous silicate and iron oxide minerals, respectively. Inside one of these slags a thick prill of iron is observed that has been largely replaced with secondary iron oxides. This observation indicates an indirect reduction of iron from its ore-producing carbonized iron (steel and cast iron)-and refers to its separation from silicate melt more probably outside of furnace. In this paper we describe the site and data has produced concerning the probable extent of the smelting activities, this is a comparative study and is a discussion on possible provenance of ore deposits.     

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Alashtar is one of the prominent valley plains in central Zagros Mountain Range. The main focus of this study is based on the activities performed in this plain in 2006-2007 periods with the aim of identifying and studying the ancient relics as well as the studies conducted in 2010  to identify and analyze Parthian settlement patterns in this area. Archaeological survey in the area identified 72 historical sites and ancient monument. The current studies suggest that first settlements in this area date back to Copper and Stone Age and the most recent settled sites belong to the later centuries of the Islamic period. Among the historical relics found in Alashtar plain, 42 relics contained remnants of the Parthian.  The overall perception of the settlement pattern in this plain during Parthian period reflects variation in population or distribution of settlement patterns compared to the former and later periods. The distribution pattern of the identified historical sites suggests that the settlements were mainly in the form of rural units with no evidence of urban centers. Overall, the distribution pattern of Parthian settlements has been strongly influenced by climatic characteristics, environmental capabilities and the special geographical position of the region. This paper attempts to study the Parthian settlement pattern in this plain; moreover, it seeks to examine these historical sites and interpret the settlement patterns in the Parthian period.