BTA - Telematic Bulletin of Art / Texts / bta00870.html

The remarkable discovery of the Bronze Age settlements in the Halil River Valley south of the city of Jiroft, first through looting and then through excavations led by Yousef Madjidzadeh, has entirely changed our understanding of the Iranian Plateau in the 3^rd millennium BCE.[1] Until the 1960s, it was thought (on the basis of cuneiform texts) that Susa and Anshan - the dual capitals of Elam - were the predominant powers in Bronze Age Iran, with scattered tribes and villages sprinkled across the highland regions. Excavations at Shahr-i Sokhta and Tepe Yahya in the 1960s and 70s did much to challenge this model,[2] but still Susa and Tall-i Malyan (ancient Anshan) remained the major urban centers of this period. Today, with unparalleled information emerging from the looted graves and excavated settlements of the Halil River Valley, we must reconfigure our understanding of Early Bronze Age power dynamics in this region.

In this essay, the Susa IV and V periods will be discussed in relation to the excavated materials at Konar Sandal South and North, and the looted materials that have since been recovered. Piotr Steinkeller[3] has convincingly argued that the region of the Halil River Basin was “Marhashi”, a land known from late 3^rd millennium texts in Mesopotamia. By finding close artifactual (and, in particular, glyptic) comparanda between Elam and southeastern Iran, we may come to a better understanding of both regions and the political and cultural relations between them[4].

The archaeological period of Susa IVA is widely attested in the Ville Royale from the 1929-33 excavations of R. de Mecquenem[5] and layers 12-9 of later excavations by E. Carter.[6] It is also present on the Acropolis in levels 4-3, investigated by M.-J. Stéve and H. Gasche.[7] L. Le Breton identified the period through typological division as Susa Db-Dd.[8]

The two decorative ceramic styles (polychrome and monochrome wares) known at Susa during the IVA period have strong affinities with the ceramic corpus known from Luristan and in the Zagros piedmont sites. A similar polychrome ware is found at Tepe Mussian[9] and at sites in the Jebel Hamrin.[10] The monochrome ware finds close comparisons with the burial goods in the graves of western Luristan, in particular Qabr Nahi.[11] The iconographic, stylistic, and typological evidence concerning other aspects of artistic expressions from Susa (especially glyptic and statuary) show strong links with contemporary Mesopotamian art of the Early Dynastic II and III Periods.

Susa IVB is known in levels 8-7 of the Ville Royale investigated by E. Carter.[12] It was also identified in the upper two layers excavated by Stéve and Gasche in the Acropolis (levels 2-1) and as Susa De, following the typological classes established by Le Breton.[13] Some comparisons are documented in the Luristan region (Kalleh Nisar A2), as well as at Yahya IVB. However, the general cultural horizon is strongly influenced by political and military events of the Akkadian dynasty, which certainly controlled Susa for much of the period. The disappearance of painted ware, the affinities with Akkadian glyptic art in the corpus of seals from Susa, and the use of the Akkadian language in the royal and local inscriptions, are clear evidence for a strong cultural influence coming from the west.

The successive archaeological phases (Ur III and Simashki dynasties) are well known in the levels investigated by E. Carter,[14] in the Ville Royale (levels 6-3) as well as in the graves on the Apadana mound (dated “XXIII” and “XX siècle” by de Mecquenem). The phase has been further identified in the Ville Royale at -4.50 m below the Achaemenid palace;[15] in chantier 1 (where they also found a mud brick with a Shu-Sin inscription)[16] and chantier 2 (where inscribed tablets with references to Ebarat are associated with the monochrome ware of the previous period);[17] and in the Donjon area (where graves were found between -5 and -8 m below the surface along with mud bricks with Attahushu royal inscriptions of the Sukkalmah dynasty).[18]

The Simashki Period is documented in the northern part of the Ville Royale excavated by R. Ghirshman.[19] Phases VII-VI of excavation area ‘B’ have revealed the period before the conquests of Shulgi (Phase VII).[20] The successive phase is characterized by the direct control of the kings of Ur (VII-VI). Finally, the period of the first dynasty of Isin is preserved in phase VI. A sealing with an inscription of the Queen Mekubi, married to Tan-Ruhuratir (king of Simashki) and daughter of Bilalama (king of Eshnunna; ca. 1980 BCE), was found in the VI periodical phase of area B.[21] Phase V is probably linked to the 20^th century BCE and to the final part of the Simashki dynasty (ca. 1900/1850 BCE).

The Susa V cultural horizon is associated with the end of the third and the first century of the 2nd millennium BCE. In this period, the extensive presence of Elamite (Elam and possibly southeastern Iran) and Persian Gulf material is well known.

Only in a few instances do we see close integrations with Mesopotamia. For example, the monochrome ware of Susa V finds strong comparisons with the contemporary Mesopotamian corpus.[22] The figurines in clay are distributed widely in the western alluvium,[23] and the glyptic art is distinct but clearly influenced by contemporary workshops in Babylonia.[24]

By this time, a strong Elamite character had developed in the visual arts. For the first time since the Proto-Elamite period, the seals at Susa show a distinctive visual iconography as well as stylistic features that can be identified as “Elamite”.[25] The presence at Susa of Old-Elamite and Anshanite glyptic art is a clear witness to the new cultural developments apparent on the Khuzistan Plain.[26]

In this period, the presence of imported material from eastern regions at Susa is particularly remarkable. Notable examples include: Omani steatite/chlorite vessels with double concentric circle on the surface attributed by P. de Miroschedji[27] to the “série récente”; Dilmunite stamp seals;[28] three “pseudo-Harappan” seals;[29] a cubic weight clearly imported from the Indus Valley;[30] Harappan etched beads;[31] an alabaster statue probably influenced or originated by artisans living in the Zhob Valley (Mundigak IV-1 e IV-2);[32] and finally some vessels imported from Bactria.[33]

As Pierre Amiet has shown,[34] the archaeological finds from southeastern Iranian regions found at Susa are numerous, and they allow us to briefly consider the important historical role played by the city, especially concerning economic transactions and cultural integration in the commercial dynamics of the Iranian plateau.[35] Imported material from southeastern Iran at Susa include: a cylinder seal; two impressions of cylinder seals; a chlorite statue; a zoomorphic axe; an axe with relief decoration on the blade; two axes with vertical flat blades; an axe with a horizontal flat blade; numerous steatite/chlorite vessels; and two alabaster vessels.

E. Porada was the first to identify the seal style of southeastern Iran, which she associated on stylistic and iconographic grounds with the Akkadian Period[36] or more generally to the second half of the 3rd millennium BCE.[37] In successive years, P. Amiet published new and more complete seals of the southeastern Iranian type, identifying these as manifestations of “Trans-Elamite art”.[38] First attempts to localize the origin of production of this distinctive glyptic style were supported by the archaeological research at Tepe Yahya[39] and Shahdad.[40] There, seals of this distinctive style are found in the same levels as the ‘serie ancienne’ chlorite, generally dated to ca. 2400-2200 BCE.

The duration of the production of the objects of steatite or chlorite of the Jiroft Type (i.e., ‘serie ancienne’) is debated. In Mesopotamia, these vessels are found in archaeological contexts of the Early Dynastic II and III periods. This archaeological evidence, combined with material from Ur and Mari,[41] places the early phase of chlorite production from ED II to the Akkadian period.[42] Chronological evaluations concerning Period IV at Yahya must be explained through material culture.[43] The evidence of a distinctive southeastern Iranian glyptic art at Yahya and Shahdad (and now at Konar Sandal South) confirms its dating on both relative and radiocarbon dates to between 2400-2200/2150 BCE.

The sealings from Susa (Figs. 1-2) in the collection of the Louvre Museum that are impressed with seals from southeastern Iran (Sb 6680 and 6707) were found during the excavations carried out by J. de Morgan. The first sealing (Sb. 6680), with its inscription, is 3.8 cm. in height and seems to be closely related to the earlier southeastern Iranian glyptic traditions, probably dating to the middle of the 3rd millennium BCE.[44] The second sealing “provennient des même couches de terrain que le vases peints des Ier et IIe styles”,[45] is 2.7 cm high and seems to date to the beginning of the fourth quarter of the 3rd millennium BCE.[46]

A previously unpublished seal found at Susa, now in the Bastan Museum of Tehran, must also be an import from southeastern Iran (NMI 624/46). The seal (Fig. 3) is carved from steatite and is badly eroded. Its dimensions are 2.8 cm in height and 1.1 cm in diameter. The seal depicts a composite four-winged being in front of an altar or platform decorated with geometric patterns. The winged being is received by a small indistinct figure, probably divinity to judge from the presence of horns, who squats on a high platform and holds a cup in his hand. A pair of zigzag lines complete the scene.[47]

This seal from Susa is related to the corpus of seals generally attributed to the Jiroft area (Tepe Yahya) and the Takab Plain (Shahdad). The scene has its strongest iconographical links with a limestone seal from grave 193 in the Main Cemetery Area A at Shahdad, where a winged being stands behind a goddess seated on a platform.[48]

A chlorite statuette (Fig. 4) is also probably an import to Susa from eastern Iran[49] to judge from the material and the style and method of manufacture. The figure’s seated posture and covered legs is widely represented in southeastern Iranian cylinder seals. Such kneeling figures are distinctive of the glyptic art from southeastern Iran during the 3rd millennium BCE. This image is well known in seals from Shahdad and Yahya, as well as in unprovenanced seals assigned to the region. Figures in the same posture are also rendered on the Standard of Shahdad.[50]

Effigy statues, sculpted from clay and found in the graves at Shahdad,[51] also assume this posture. It is also seen on a bronze pin in the Louvre[52] and on circular disks in lapis lazuli confiscated from the looters and now in the museum in Kerman.[53] Another object found in the excavations at Susa that likely comes from southeastern Iran or Bactria is an axe with relief decoration on the blade (Fig. 5). The specimen was published for the first time by de Mecquenem, who initially proposed a dating to the “XXV siècle”,[54] which he later pushed a century earlier to ca. 2600 BCE.[55] The blade of the axe joins the socket at an oblique angle, with the edges of the blade perfectly straight and symmetrical. The axe type is unique within the Susa metallurgical tradition, while it is widely attested in southeastern Iran and to a lesser degree in Bactria.[56] The closest comparison is to an example found in the cemetery of Khinaman,[57] and to another found in a grave at Shahdad.[58] Other comparable axes from uncertain archaeological contexts have been assigned to Bactria.[59] The presence of the same type of axe rendered on a seal dated (through its inscription) to the reign of Idadu (ca. 2000 BCE) allows us to assign a terminus ante quem for this axe type to the end of the 3^rd or beginning of the 2nd millennium BCE. However, it is certainly possible that the examples in the east are earlier.

Two more axes from Susa having flat blades are clear evidence of articulated commercial and cultural exchanges between the lowland site and the regions of the Iranian Plateau (Fig. 6).[60] Both axes represent a specific type known among the looted materials from the Halil River Valley. Another comparison to these axes are said to come from the region of the Lut;[61] from Damin not far from the Halil River;[62] further to the east at Shahi Tump;[63] from Chanhu-daro,[64] and, curiously, from Saqqiz in Azerbaijan.[65] The archaeological context at the site of Damin shows strong links with level IV at Bampur, allowing us to suggest that this type of axe was produced in the last quarter of the 3rd millennium BCE.

A fourth type of axe documented at Susa that originates in southeastern Iran has a vertical flat blade which is also widely attested in the Halil River Valley (Fig. 7).[66] Numerous axes of this type were found among the confiscated materials from the looted graves near Jiroft.[67] Other similar axes are known from Mundigak[68] and Maikop.[69]

Two alabaster vessels from Susa must also be considered imported material from southeastern Iran[70] when considered in light of the material coming from the looted Jiroft graves (Fig. 8).[71] The Susa alabaster vessels were found in the “Vase à la Cachette,” which is generally attributed on the basis of its morphology and painted decoration (as well as to the cylinder seals found inside the vessel) to the middle of the 3rd millennium BCE.[72] The alabaster used for these vessels shows a high percentage of calcium carbonate, unknown among other examples from Susa which tend to be made of gypsum.[73]

The abundant evidence at Susa of material imported from southeastern Iran allows us to reconstruct an articulated system of exchange, direct or indirect, between the lands of the alluvium and those of the highlands.[74] The relationship among the political and cultural entities of the Jiroft civilization appear to be uninterrupted from the middle of the 3rd to the beginning of the 2nd millennium BCE, when a diffuse crisis is attested in regional complexes of southeastern Iran.[75] The chlorite/steatite vessels are particularly important to our understanding of the role played by Susa in the diffusion of artistic and cultural practices which originated in the Jiroft civilization. The broad chronological range of chlorite/steatite vessels,[76] their wide distribution,[77] and the indigenous copies in bituminous stone at Susa, are important indicators of the frequency of the cultural interactions/integrations between the Susiana Plain and the sites of the Halil River Valley.

It seems probable that Susa played a central role in the re-elaboration of eastern Iranian artistic production for local use and for a limited market oriented toward southern Mesopotamia. The archaeological evidence allows us to identify multiple roles performed by Susa in the interactive cultural dynamics and commercial relations with the Halil River Valley, Baluchistan Province, and the polities on the edge of the Desert of Lut. Susa was a cultural and artistic nexus in which the artistic features characteristic of the Jiroft civilization were re-invented and adapted for local and foreign consumption. This is most clearly exemplified in the bituminous vessels produced as local copies of the vessels made in the Halil River Valley. These three different roles carried out at Susa in relation with the eastern highlands seem to be confirmed by the imported materials coming from the Oxus civilization, the region of the Persian Gulf, and the Indus Valley. These imports include two compartmented seals;[78] an eagle pendant;[79] a limestone statuette;[80] some alabaster disks and short and small columns;[81] four Dilmunite stamp seals and two sealings;[82] numerous chlorite/steatite vessels from Oman;[83] and finally a cubic weight,[84] a limestone head[85] and etched carnelian beads[86] from the Indus Valley. All are clear examples of the robust commercial role played by Susa as an intermediary site between the Mesopotamian cities and the east.

Susa was not only a center able to develop long-distance commercial trade, but also a city where multiple cultural aspects were integrated and re-elaborated within the indigenous context. This role seems to have been particularly important in the cultural dynamics of the Susiana Plain. The presence of chlorite/vessels of the “serie ancienne” type carrying Mesopotamian iconography (unknown to the Jiroft ateliers; for example see the Mesopotamian Imdugud), six local copies of Dilmunite stamp seals,[87] two Dilmunite cylinder seals,[88] an Indus-type cylinder seal,[89] and an Indus-style rounded stamp seal[90] all attest to the local adaption of foreign styles. Furthermore, stamp seals with (pseudo-)Harappan inscriptions are clear evidence for the cultural integration and interaction documented at Susa during the last centuries of the 3^rd and first centuries of the 2nd millennium BCE. How the new material from the Jiroft will affect this picture must await future research and publications.

FOOTNOTES

[*] Part of this paper has been presented to the “Ist International Congress on the Halil Rud Civilization”, held at Jiroft from 30/01/2005 to 03/02/2005. I would like to thank H. Pittman for her suggestions and revisiting English.

[1] Madjidzadeh 2003; 2008; Piran 2013. See also Vidale - Desset 2013.

[2] Lamberg-Karlovsky - Tosi 1973.

[3] Steinkeller 1982.

[4] Ascalone 2006: 113-125.

[5] De Mecquenem 1934: 211-215.

[6] Carter 1974.

[7] Stéve - Gasche 1971.

[8] Le Breton 1957: pl. XXVI, 8.11.

[9] Wright 1981: 111-125.

[10] Killick - Roaf 1979: 540.

[11] Vanden Berghe 1973: 28.

[12] Carter 1974.

[13] Le Breton 1957.

[14] Carter 1974; 1976; 1978; 1979; 1980.

[15] de Mecquenem 1922: 134-137; 1924: 110-113; 1934; 1943.

[16] de Mecquenem 1934: 209-211.

[17] de Mecquenem 1934: 221.

[18] de Mecquenem 1934: 227-234; 1943; see especially Malbran-Labat 1995.

[19] Ghirshman 1965; 1966a; 1966b; 1967a; 1967b; 1968a; 1970.

[20] Ghirshman 1968b: 7.

[21] Ghirshman 1968b: 4-7.

[22] See in particular Gasche 1973: types 1-3, 5-6, 12, 15-16, 18, 21, 23.

[23] de Mecquenem 1934: fig. 85:1-10; Spycket 1992: 36-83, nn. 127-429.

[24] Amiet 1972: 189-223, nn. 1, 473-730.

[25] Ascalone 2016 and 2018.

[26] Amiet 1972: 210-211 and Ascalone 2011.

[27] de Miroschedji 1973.

[28] Amiet 1972: 221-222, nn. 1, 716-719; 1974: 109; 1986: fig. 92: 1-10.

[29] Amiet 1986: 143, 148 and 177, fig. 94.

[30] Amiet 1986: 143, fig. 93; see also Ascalone - Peyronel 2003.

[31] Amiet 1986: 144, 148, fig. 92.

[32] Amiet 1966: fig. 112; cf. Gouin 1969: 47, fig. 2.

[33] Amiet 1977: 98-99, figs. 7.4 and 8a-b; 1979: 154, fig. 2). See D.T. Potts (1999) for a comprehensive discussion.

[34] Amiet 1986.

[35] Ascalone 2006: 79-85.

[36] Porada 1964; 1965: 41, fig. 16; Amiet 1973: 26.

[37] Porada 1975: 367, fig. 283.

[38] Amiet 1973; 1974; 1986: 165-69, fig. 132; 1994; 1997. For southeastern Iranian seals see also Porada 1982, 1988; Winkelmann 1997, and Ascalone 2008; 2011: 331-360.

[39] Pittman 2001: 232-240.

[40] Hakemi 1997a: 661.

[41] Parrot 1956: 113, pl. XLVI-LI; 1967: 180-182, figs. 226-228, pl. LXXI; 1974: 42-43, figs. 11-12.

[42] Ascalone 2007: tab. 1.

[43] Potts - Lamberg-Karlovsky 2001.

[44] Delaporte 1920: 57, tab. 45: 11-12, S.462; Porada 1962: 33, fig. 13; Amiet 1980a: n. 1363; 1986: 128, 167, 197, fig. 71; Winkelmann 1997: tab. 1h; 2000: fig. 2; Ascalone 2005b: fig. 18i; 2006: fig. 17b; 2008: fig. 8c 2011: n. 4A.15; Pittman 2002).

[45] Legrain 1921: 1.

[46] Legrain 1921: n. 279; Amiet 1994: 4, fig. 3; 1997: fig. 6; Winkelmann 1997: fig. 1g; 2000: fig. 25; Ascalone 2005b: fig. 18c.

[47] Ascalone 2005b: fig. 20; 2006: fig. 17c-d.

[48] Hakemi 1997a: 255, obj. n. 2263.

[49] Pottier 1913: pl. XLIV:1-2; Amiet 1966: fig. 134; 1986: 202, figs. 97: 1, 108.

[50] Amiet 1974: 103, fig. 7; Hakemi 1972: n. 300; 1997a: 649, obj. n. 1049.

[51] Hakemi 1997a: 444, obj. n. 3322 and 353, obj. n. 2229.

[52] Amiet 1986: 169, fig. 127.

[53] Madjidzadeh 2003: 170-171.

[54] de Mecquenem 1934: 214, fig. 58.

[55] de Mecquenem 1946: 78.

[56] Tallon 1987: fig. 6a-b.

[57] Calmeyer 1969: 182, figs. 151-152; Curtis 1988.

[58] Hakemi 1972: pl. XX; 1973b: 66; 1997a: 638, Gp. 8; Amiet 1973: 27.

[59] Amiet 1976b: 21, n. 29; 1977: pl. V; M.H. Pottier 1984: nn. 53-67, 69-71; Sarianidi 1977a: figs. 64-65; 1977b: 138, fig. 2.

[60] Amiet 1986: 163-164, fig. 96: 4-5e cf. Tosi 1970: 36, fig. 17 and Hakemi 1973b: 26; Tallon 1987: 95-96, nn. 72-77.

[61] Amiet 1973: 26; 1976a: fig. 7.

[62] Tosi 1970: 46-47, fig. 17a.

[63] Deshayes 1960: n. 1,548.

[64] Deshayes 1960: n. 1,554.

[65] Deshayes 1960: n. 3,105.

[66] Tallon 1987: 174, n. 532.

[67] Madjidzadeh 2003: 158.

[68] Casal 1961: 249, fig. 139: 9.

[69] Deshayes 1960: n. 1,847.

[70] Amiet 1966: fig. 152: a-b; 1986: 125-126, fig. 96: 7-9.

[71] Cf. Madjidzadeh 2003: 144, 146.

[72] de Mecquenem 1934: 189, fig. 21; Le Breton 1957: 117-18, figs. 39-40; Amiet 1966: figs. 151-153.

[73] Amiet 1986: 127.

[74] D.T. Potts 2002: 345-351; see also Steinkeller 2013; 2014.

[75] On the role of Iran in the inter-regional exchange of metal see Steinkeller 2016.

[76] Ascalone 2007: tab. 1.

[77] Miroschedji 1973.

[78] Amiet 1974: 97; Tallon 1987: nn. 1, 249-250

[79] de Mecquenem 1934: 210, fig. 53: 3; 1946: 85; Amiet 1966: 260, fig. 189; 1986: 147, 201, figs. 97, 106 and cf. 199.

[80] Amiet 1966: 156, fig. 112; 1986: 148, fig. 98; Spycket 1981: 124, pl. 87.

[81] Amiet 1986: 147-148, figs. 97: 4, 101-102.

[82] Amiet 1972: nn. 240, 1, 716-818; 1974: fig. 16.

[83] Amiet 1986: 146-147, 149, 176, fig. 89.

[84] Amiet 1986: 143, fig. 93; Ascalone - Peyronel 1999: 366; 2003: 358-359.

[85] Amiet 1986: 144, 148, fig. 95.

[86] de Mecquenem 1943: fig. 84: 7; Amiet 1986: 144, 147-149, figs. 92, 100.

[87] Amiet 1972: nn. 1720, 1722-1726.

[88] For the first cylinder seal (Sb 1383) see Rutten 1950: 175, pl. 5, n. 39; Amiet 1972: n. 2,021; 1986: tab. 90, fig. 6; Collon 1996: fig. 31b; Peyronel 2000: 204-206, 229, n. 6.1, fig. 6.3. The second (NMI 653) is published in Amiet 1972: n. 1,975; Amiet 1986: tab. 90, fig. 7; Amiet 1986c: 266, fig. 91; Collon 1996: fig. 31C; Peyronel 2000: 204-206, 229-30, n. 6.2.

[89] See firstly Scheil 1900: 129.

[90] Scheil 1916: 22.

REFERENCES

AMIET 1966

P. Amiet, Elam, Auvers-sur-Oise, Archée Editor, Paris, 1966.

AMIET 1970

ID., Rois et dieux d’Elam. D’après les cachets et les sceaux-cylindres de Suse, in Archéologia, 36, 1970, pp. 22-29.

AMIET 1972

ID., La glyptique susienne, des origines à l’époque des perses achéménides. Cachets, sceaux-cylindres et empreintes antiques découvertes à Suse, de 1913 à 1967 (= MDAI 43), P. Geuthner, Paris, 1972.

AMIET 1973

ID., En Iran Central, la civilisation du désert de Lut, in Archéologia, 60, 1973, pp. 20-27.

AMIET 1974

ID., Antiquités du désert de Lut, I. À propos d’objets de la collection Foroughi, in Revue d’Assyriologie et d’Archéologie Orientale, 68, 1974, pp. 97-110.

AMIET 1976a

ID., Antiquités du désert de Lut, II, in Revue d’Assyriologie et d’Archéologie Orientale, 70, 1976, pp. 1-8.

AMIET 1976b

ID., Antiquités du Luristan, Collection David-Weill, Boccard, Paris, 1976.

AMIET 1977

ID., Bactriane proto-historique, in Syria, 54, 1977, pp. 89-121.

AMIET 1979

ID., L’iconographie archaïque de l’Iran. Quelques documents nouveaux, in Syria, 56, 1979, pp. 333-352.

AMIET 1980a

ID., La glyptique mésopotamienne archaïque, Éditions du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris, 1980.

AMIET 1980b

ID., Antiquités de serpentine, in Iranica Antiqua, 15, 1980, pp.155-166.

AMIET 1981

ID., Zur prähistorischen Kultur Baktriens, in Das Altertum, 27/3, 1981, pp. 147-155.

AMIET 1986

ID., L’âge des échanges inter-iraniens: 3500-1700 avant J.-C., Reunion des Musees Nationaux, Paris, 1986.

AMIET 1988

ID., La Vallée dell’Indus et le monde de l’Iran: Les cités oubliées de l’Indus, in Les cités oubliées de l’Indus: Archéologie du Pakistan, a cura di A.A.VV., Musée National des Arts Asiatiques Guimet, Paris, 1988, pp. 194-202.

AMIET 1994

ID., Un sceau Trans-élamite a Suse, in Revue d’Assyriologie et d’Archéologie Orientale, 88/1, 1994, pp. 1-4.

AMIET 1997

ID., La glyptique transélamite, in De Chypre à la Bactriane, les sceaux du Proche-Orient ancien, Actes du colloque international organisé au musée du Louvre par la Service culturel le 18 mars 1995, a cura di A. Coubet, Musée du Louvre Publication, Paris, 1997, pp. 121-129.

ASCALONE 2000a

E. Ascalone, Distributive and Archaeological Analysis of the Susa Ceramic Assemblage. Typological Approach and Stratigraphical Evidence, in Proceedings of the Ist Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, Rome 18-23 May 1998, a cura di P. Matthiae et al., Università degli studi di Roma “La Sapienza”, Dipartimento di Scienze Storiche, Archeologiche e Antropologiche dell’Antichità, Rome, 2000, pp. 9-36.

ASCALONE 2000b

ID., Interpretazione stratigrafica e proposta di periodizzazione della città di Susa. Studio comparativo degli scavi effettuati e analisi storica dell’abitato tra la fine del IV e l’inizio del III millennio, in Vicino Oriente, 12, 2000, pp. 23-66.

ASCALONE 2003

ID., Modalità, cause e dinamiche dei rapporti tra Siria e Turan durante la seconda metà del III millennio a.C.: evidenze archeologiche, epigrafiche e storiche di un ‘indirect long-distance trade’, in Contributi e Materiali di Archeologia Orientale, 9, 2003, pp. 139-175.

ASCALONE 2005a

ID., L’indigeno ed il forestiero: elaborazione di nuovi percorsi culturali integrativi tra seconda metà del III e inizio del II millennio a.C. in Susiana e sul plateau iraniano, in Scienze dell’Antichità, 11, 2005, pp. 9-50.

ASCALONE 2005b

ID., Cultural Spheres on Iranian Plateau as Seen from Glyptic Evidence. Distribution and Development of Seals in Iranian Regional Contexts during Mesopotamian Akkadian and Post-Akkadian Periods (ca. 2400-2150 BC), in Memorial Volume in Honor of Paolo Matthiae for his 65 Years, a cura di F. Baffi et al., Università di Roma “La Sapienza”, Dipartimento di Scienze Storiche Archeologiche e Antropologiche dell’Antichità, Roma, 2005, pp. 4-41.

ASCALONE 2006

ID., Archeologia dell’Iran Antico. Integrazioni, interazioni e discontinuità nell’Iran del III millennio a.C. (= Nisaba 14), Di.Sc.A.M, Messina, 2006.

ASCALONE 2007

ID., Archaeological Links between Syria and Iran. Stratigraphical Correlations and Regional Connections, in From Relative Chronology to Absolute Chronology. The Second Millennium BC in Syria-Palestine. Proceedings of the International Colloquium, Rome 29^th November - 1^st December 2001, a cura di P. Matthiae et al., Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei - Università di Roma “La Sapienza”, Roma, 2007, pp. 33-70.

ASCALONE 2008

ID., Cultural Interactions among Mesopotamia, Elam, Transelam and Indus Civilization. The Evidence of a Cylinder-Stamp Seal from Jalalabad (Fars) and its Significance in the Historical Dynamics of South-eastern Iran, in Proceedings of the 4th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, a cura di H. Kühne et al., Berlin 28.03-04.04.2004, Eisenbrauns, Winona Lake, Berlin, 2008, pp. 255-276.

ASCALONE 2011

ID., Glittica Elamita dalla metà del III alla metà del II millennio a.C. Sigilli a stampo, sigilli a cilindro e impronte rinvenute in Iran e provenienti da collezioni private e museali, L’Erma di Bretschneider, Roma, 2011.

ASCALONE 2016

ID., L’anticlassico che diventa classico. Sostituzione, elaborazione e affermazione di nuovi codici di propaganda al tempo degli Sukkalmakh (ca. 1900-1520 a.C.), in Bollettino Telematico dell’Arte, 821, 2016, pp. 1-27.

ASCALONE 2018

ID., Glyptic in the 4^th–2^nd Millennium, in The Elamite World, a cura di J. Àlvarez-Mon, G.P. Basello, Y. Wicks, Routledge Worlds Series, New York-London, 2018, pp. 623-648.

ASCALONE-PEYRONEL 1999

E. Ascalone, L. Peyronel, Typological and Quantitative Approach to the Ancient Weight System. Susa, Persian Gulf and Indus Valley from the End of the III Mill. to the Beginning of the II Mill. BC, in Altorientalische Forschungen, 26/2, 1999, pp. 252-277.

ASCALONE-PEYRONEL 2003

IDD., Meccanismi di scambio commerciale e metrologia pre-monetaria nell’Asia Media, in India e nel Golfo Persico durante l’Età del Bronzo. Spunti per una riflessione sulle sfere d’interazione culturale, in Contributi e Materiali di Archeologia Orientale, 9, 2003, pp. 321-421.

BEALE 1986

T.W. Beale, Excavations at Tepe Yahya, Iran 1967-1973, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Cambridge, 1986.

CALMEYER 1969

P. Calmeyer, Datierbare Bronzen aus Luristan und Kirmanshah, de Gruyter, Berlin, 1969.

CARTER 1974

E. Carter, Susa: Excavation in the Ville Royale, in Iran, 12, 1974, pp. 218-220.

CARTER 1976

ID., Ville Royale, campagne 1975, in Proceedings of the IVth Annual Symposium on Archaeological Research in Iran 1975, a cura di F. Bagherzadeh, Tehran, 1976, pp. 232-242.

CARTER 1978

ID., Suse, Ville Royale I, in Paléorient, 4, 1978, pp. 197-212.

CARTER 1979

ID., The Susa Sequence 3000-2000 B.C., Susa Ville Royale I, in American Journal of Archaeology, 83, 1979, pp. 451-454.

CARTER 1980

ID., Excavations in Ville Royale I at Susa: the Third Millennium B.C., in DAFI, 11, 1980, pp. 11-134.

COLLON 1987

D. Collon, First Impression: Cylinder Seals in the Ancient Near East, British Museum Press, London, 1987.

COLLON 1996

ID., Mesopotamia and the Indus: The Evidence of the Seals, in The Indian Ocean in Antiquity, a cura di J. Reade, Kegan Paul International in association with the British Museum, London, 1996, pp. 209-226.

DELAPORTE 1920

L. Delaporte, Musée du Louvre, Catalogue des cylindres orientaux. Catalogue des cylindres, cachets et pierres gravées de style oriental I. Fouilles et missions, Librairie Hachette, Paris, 1920.

DELAPORTE 1923

ID., Musée du Louvre, Catalogue des cylindres orientaux. Catalogue des cylindres, cachets et pierres gravées de style oriental II. Acquisitions, Librairie Hachette, Paris, 1923.

DESHAYES 1960

J. Deshayes, Les Outils de bronze de l’Indus au Danube, IV au II millénaire, Geuthner, Paris, 1960.

DURING CASPERS 1993-95

E.C.L. During Caspers, The Meluhhan Cultural Heritage: Indianesque Stamp and Cylinder Seals, and Their Relevance for the Acculturation Process of the Harappans abroad, in Persica, 40, 1993-95, pp. 7-28.

GHIRSHMAN 1965

R. Ghirshman, Suse du temps des Sukkalmah. Campagne des fouilles 1963-1964. Rapport préliminaire, in Arts Asiatiques, 11/2, 1965, pp. 3-21.

GHIRSHMAN 1966a

ID., Campagne de l’hiver 1965-66, in Acta Archeologica Hungarica, 14, 1966, pp. 249-253.

GHIRSHMAN 1966b

ID., Suse. Campagne de l’hiver 1964-65: rapport préliminaire, in Arts Asiatiques, 13, 1966, pp. 3-32.

GHIRSHMAN, R. 1967b

ID., Suse. Campagne de l’hiver 1965-66: rapport préliminaire, in Arts Asiatiques, 15, 1967, pp. 3-27.

GHIRSHMAN 1967b

ID., Suse, in Iran, 5, pp. 142-144.

GHIRSHMAN 1968a

ID., Travaux de la Délégation Archéologique Française en Iran, in Iran, 6, 1968, pp. 164-165.

GHIRSHMAN 1968b

ID., Suse au tournant du III au II millénaire avant notre ère, in Arts Asiatiques, 17, 1986, pp. 3-44.

GHIRSHMAN 1970

ID., The Elamites Levels at Susa and Their Chronological Significance, in American Journal of Archaeology, 74, 1970, pp. 223-225.

GOUIN 1969

P. Gouin, Figurines de terre cuite d’Afghanistan a et du Waziristan, in Arts Asiatique, 19, 1969, pp. 37-51.

HAKEMI 1972

A. Hakemi, Catalogue de l’exposition: Lut, Xabis (Shahdad), Tehran, 1972.

HAKEMI 1973a

ID.., La Civilisation du Désert du Lut, in Archeologia, 60, 1973, pp. 21-27.

HAKEMI 1973b

ID., Prehistoric Discovery in East Iran, in Illustrated London News, 261, 1973, pp. 63-66.

HAKEMI 1997

ID., Shahdad, Archaeological Excavations of a Bronze Age Center in Iran, IsIAO, Roma, 1997.

HEIMPEL 1988

W. Heimpel, Magan, in Reallexikon der Assyriologie und vorderasiatische Archäologie, 7, 1988, pp. 195-199.

HIEBERT-LAMBERG-KARLOVSKY 1992

F.T. Hiebert, C.C. Lamberg-Karlovsky, Central Asia and the Indo-Iranian Borderlands, in Iran, 30, 1992, pp. 1-15.

HOROWITZ 1992

W. Horowitz, Two Abnu šilkinšu Fragments and Related Materials, in Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und Vorderasiatische Archäologie, 82, 1992, pp. 112-122.

JÉQUIER 1905

G. Jéquier, Fouilles de Suse de 1899 à 1902 (= MDP 7), Geuthner, Paris, 1905, pp. 9-40.

KILLIK-ROAF 1979

R. Killik, M. Roaf, Excavations at Tell Madhhur, in Sumer, 35, 1979, pp. 539-542.

KOHL 1971

P.C. Kohl. The Early Bronze Age of Iran as seen from Tepe Yahya, in Expedition, 13, 1971, pp. 14-21.

KOHL 1975

ID., Carved Chlorite Vessels: A Trade in Finished Commodities in the mid-third-Millennium, in Expedition, 18/1, 1975, pp. 18-31.

KOHL 2001

ID., Reflections on the Production of Chlorite at Tepe Yahya: 25 Years Later, in Excavations at Tepe Yahya, Iran, 1967-1975: Periods IVC and IVB (3000-2000 BC), a cura di D.T. Potts, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, Cambridge, 2001, pp. 209-230.

LAMBERG-KARLOVSKY 1970

C.C. Lamberg-Karlovsky, Excavations at Tepe Yahya, Iran 1967-1969, Progress Report I, American School of Prehistoric Research, Cambridge, 1970.

LAMBERG-KARLOVSKY 1971

ID., The Protoelamite Settlement at Tepe Yahya, in Iran, 9, 1971, pp. 87-95.

LAMBERG-KARLOVSKY 1972

ID., Tepe Yahya 1971. Mesopotamia and Indo-Iranian Borderlands, in Iran, 10, 1972, pp. 89-100.

LAMBERG-KARLOVSKY 1973

ID., Urban Interaction in the Iranian Plateau: Excavation at Tepe Yahya, 1967-1973, in Proceedings of the British Academy, 59, 1973, pp. 1-43.

LAMBERG-KARLOVSKY 1976

ID., Tepe Yahya Project, in Iran, 14, 1976, p. 172.

LAMBERG-KARLOVSKY 2001

ID., Afterward: Excavations at Tepe Yahya: Reconstructing the Past, in Excavations at Tepe Yahya, Iran, 1967-1975: Periods IVC and IVB (3000-2000 BC), a cura di D.T. Potts, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, Cambridge, 2001, pp. 269-280.

LE BRETON 1957

L. Le Breton, The Early Periods at Susa, Mesopotamia Relations, in Iraq, 19, 1957, pp 79-124.

LEGRAIN 1921

L. Legrain, Empreintes de cachets élamites (= MDP 16), E. Leroux, Paris, 1921.

MADJIDZADEH 2003

Y. Madjidzadeh, Jiroft. The Earliest Oriental Civilization, Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Tehran, 2003.

MADJIDZADEH 2008

ID., Excavations at Konar Sandal in the Region of Jiroft in the Halil Basin: First Preliminary Report (2002-2008), in Iran, 46, 2008, pp. 69-104.

MECQUENEM 1922

R. Mecquenem de, Fouilles de Suse, campagnes des annes 1914-1922, in Revue d’Assyriologie et d’Archéologie Orientale, 19, 1922, pp. 105-140.

MECQUENEM 1924

ID., Fouilles de Suse (campagne 1923-1924), in Revue d’Assyriologie et d’Archéologie Orientale, 21, 1924, pp. 105-118.

MECQUENEM 1934

ID., Fouilles de Suse 1929 à 1933 (sur l’acropole et la ville royale) (= MDP 25), Geuthner, Paris, 1934, pp. 177-237.

MECQUENEM 1943

ID., Fouilles de Suse 1933-1938 (Suse, Tépé Bouhallan, Tépé Husseinabad, Tépé Zohab) (= MDAI 29), Geuthner, Paris, 1943, pp. 3-161.

MECQUENEM 1946

ID., L’emploi des métaux par les civilisations susiennes, in Métaux et Civilisations, 1:4, 1946, pp. 77-88.

MIROSCHEDJI 1973

P. Miroschedji de, Vases et objets en stéatite susiens du Musée du Louvre, in DAFI, 3, 1973, pp. 9-42.

MIROSCHEDJI 1981

ID., Le dieu élamite au serpent et eaux jaillissantes, in Iranica Antiqua, 16, 1981, pp. 1-25.

PARPOLA 1994

A. Parpola, Harappan Inscriptions. An Analytical Catalogue of the Indus Inscription from the Near East, in Qala’at al Bahrain. Vol. 1. The Northern City Wall and the Islamic Fortress (= JASP 30), a cura di H.H. Andersen, F. Højlund, Moesgaard, 1994, pp. 304-315

PARROT 1954

A. Parrot, Glyptique mésopotamienne. Fouilles de Lagash (Tello) et de Larsa (Senkereh) (1931-1933), Impr. Nationale, Paris, 1954.

PARROT 1956

ID., Le temple d’Ishtar (= Mission Archéologique de Mari I), Geuthner, Paris, 1956.

PARROT 1967

ID., Les temples d’Ishtarat et de Ninni Zaza (= Mission Archéologique de Mari, III), Geuthner, Paris, 1967.

PARROT 1974

ID., Mari capitale fabuleuse, Payot, Paris, 1974.

PEYRONEL 2000

L. Peyronel, Sigilli harappani e dilmuniti dalla Mesopotamia e Susiana. Note sul commercio nel Golfo Arabo-Persico tra III e II millennio a.C., in Vicino Oriente, 12, 2000, pp. 175-240.

PIRAN 2013

S. Piran, Objects from the Jiroft Treasure. Soft Stone and Alabaster Objects (Recovered Collection) from the Halil River Basin in National Museum of Iran, Pazineh, Tehran.

PITTMAN 2001

H. Pittman, Glyptic Art of Period IV, in Excavations at Tepe Yahya, Iran, 1967-1975: Periods IVC and IVB (3000-2000 BC), a cura di D.T. Potts, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, Cambridge, 2001, pp. 231-268

PORADA 1962

E. Porada, Iran ancient, Methuen and Co., Paris.

PORADA 1964

ID., Problems of Interpretation in a Cylinder Seal of the Akkad Period from Iran, in Compte Rendu de l’Onziéme Rencontre d’Assyriologique Internationale, a cura di A.A. Kampman, J.P.M. Van der Ploeg, Brill, Leiden, 1964, pp. 88-93.

PORADA 1965

ID., The Art of Ancient Iran, Methuen and Co., London, 1965.

PORADA 1975

ID., Iranische Kunst, in Der Alten Orient. Propyläen Kunstgeschichte 14, a cura di W. Orthmann, Propyläen Verlag, Berlin, 1975, pp. 363-398

PORADA 1982

ID., Remarks on the Tôd Treasures in Egypt, in Societies and Languages of the Ancient Near East. Studies in Honour of I.M. Diakonoff, a cura di M.A. Dandamayev et al., Aris and Phillips Ltd, Warmister, 1982, pp. 285-303.

PORADA 1988

ID., Discussion of a Cylinder Seal, probably from Southeast Iran, in Iranica Antiqua, 23, 1988, pp. 139-148.

POTTIER 1912

E. Pottier, Etude historique et chronologique sur les vases peintes de l’acropole de Suse (= MDP 13), Geuthner, Paris, 1912, pp. 27-103.

POTTS 1981

D.T. Potts, Echoes of Mesopotamian Divinity on a Cylinder Seal from South-eastern Iran, in Revue d’Assyriologie et d’Archéologie Orientale, 75, 1981, pp. 135-142.

POTTS 1989

ID., Miscellanea Hasaitica, Carsten Niebuhr Institute Publications 9, Univeristy of Copenhagen and Museum Tusculanum Press, Copenhagen, 1989.

POTTS 2001

ID., Excavations at Tepe Yahya, Iran, 1967-1975: Periods IVC and IVB (3000-2000 BC), Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, Cambridge, 2001.

POTTS 2002

ID., Total Prestation in Markhashi-Ur Relations, in Iranica Antiqua, 37, 2002, pp. 343-358.

POTTS 1994

T.F. Potts, Mesopotamia and the East, an Archaeological and Historical Study of Foreign Relations ca. 3400-2000 BC, Oxbow Books, Oxford, 1994.

RUTTEN 1959

M. Rutten, Glyptique susienne: empreintes et cylindres, in Revue d’Assyriologie et d’Archéologie Orientale, 44, 1959, pp. 161-184.

SARIANIDI 1977a

V.I. Sarianidi, Bactrian Centre of Ancient Art, in Mesopotamia, 12, 1977, pp. 97-110.

SARIANIDI 1977b

ID., Ancient Horasan and Bactria, in Le plateau iranien et l’Asie Centrale des origines à la conquête islamique, a cura di J. Deshyes, Colloques internationaux du C.N.R.S. n. 567, Broché, Paris, pp. 129-142.

SCHEIL 1900

V. Scheil, Textes élamites-sémitiques (= MDP 2), Geuthner, Paris.

SCHEIL 1916

ID., Cylindres et légendes inédits, in Revue d’Assyriologie et d’Archéologie Orientale, 13, 1916, pp. 5-25.

SCHEIL-LEGRAIN 1913

V. Scheil, L. Legrain, Textes élamites-sémitiques (= MDP 14), Geuthner, Paris, 1913.

SPYCKET 1981

A. Spycket, La statuaire du Proche Orient Ancien, Brill, Leiden 1981.

SPYCKET 1992

ID., Les figurines de Suse. Les figurines humaines, IVe-IIe millenaires av. J.-C. (= MDAI 52), Gabalda, Paris, 1992.

STEINKELLER 1982

P. Steinkeller, The Question of Marhaši: A Contribution to the Historical Geography of Iran in the Third Millennium B.C., in Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und vorderasiatische Archäologie, 72, 1982, pp. 237-265.

STEINKELLER 2013

ID., Trade Routes and Commercial Networks in the Persian Gulf during the Third Millennium BC, in Collection of Papers Presented to the Third International Biennial Conference of the Persian Gulf, a cura di G. Karimi-Doostan et al., University of Tehran Press, Tehran, 2013, pp. 414-431.

STEINKELLER 2014

ID., Marhasi and Beyond: The Jiroft Civilization in a Historical Perspective, in “My Life is like the Summer Rose”: Maurizio Tosi e l’archeologia come modo di vivere, Papers in Honour of Maurizio Tosi for His 70th Birthday, a cura di B. Cerasetti, B. Genito, C.C. Lamberg-Karlovsky, BAR International Series 2690, Oxford, pp. 691-707.

STEINKELLER 2016

ID., The Role of Iran in the Inter–Regional Exchange of Metal: Tin, Copper, Silver and Gold in the Second Half of the Third Millennium BC, in Ancient Text Studies in the National Museum 2, a cura di K. Maekawa, Kyoto:, 2016, pp. 127-150.

STÉVE-GASCHE 1971

M.-J Stéve, H. Gasche, L’Acropole de Suse. Nouvelles fouilles (= MDAI 46), Brill, Leiden, 1971.

TALLON 1987

F. Tallon, Métallurgie susienne I-II: de la fondation de Suse au XVIII siècle avant J.-C. (= Musée du Louvre Département des antiquités orientales), RMN, Paris, 1987.

TOSI 1970

M. Tosi, A Tomb from Damin and the Problem of the Bampur Sequence in the Third Millennium B.C., in East and West, 20, 1970, pp. 9-50.

VALLAT 1985

F. Vallat, Eléments de géographie élamite, in Paléorient, 11/2, 1985, pp. 49-54.

VANDEN BERGHE 1973

L. Vanden Berghe, Le Luristan à l’Age du Bronze, in Archéologia 63, 1973, pp. 25-36.

VIDALE-DESSET 2013

M. Vidale, F. Desset, Mahtoutabad I (Konar Sandal South, Jiroft): Preliminary Evidence of Occupation of a Halil Rud Site in the Early Fourth Millennium BC, in Ancient Iran and Its Neighbours: Local Developments and Long Range Interactions in the Fourth Millennium BC, a cura di C. Petrie, British Institute of Persian Studies, Archaeological Monographs Series, Oxbow Books, Oxford, 2013, pp. 233-252.

WESTENHOLZ 1987

A. Westenholz, Old Sumerian and Old Akkadian Texts in Philadelphia II. The Akkadian Texts the Enlilemaba Texts, and the Onion Archive, Casten Niebuhr Institute, Museum Tusculanum Press, Copenhagen, 1987.

WINKELMANN 1997

S. Winkelmann, Ein neues Trans-elamisches Siegel, in Archäologische Mitteilungen aus Iran und Turan, 29, 1997, pp. 135-146.

WINKELMANN 2000

ID., Intercultural Relations between Iran, the Murghabo-Bactrian Archaeological Complex (BMAC), Northwest India and Failaka on the Field of Seals, in East and West, 50, 2000, pp. 43-96.