Chronology of Madrish Castle area of Sistan based on the study of pottery obtained from methodical survey

Subject Areas : Islamic Archaeology

YASAMAN  NASIRIPOUR ¹ (phd student of Department of Archeology Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran)
sepideh  Bakhtiari ² (Sepideh Bakhtiari, PhD in Archaeology, Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Art and Architected, Mazandaran University, Babolsar, Iran.)
mohammad  keikha ³ (Ph.D. student, Department of Archeology, BU ali Sina University, Hamadan, Iran)
Sahar  Bakhtiari ⁴ (Postdoctoral Researcher in Archaeology Tarbiat Modares university)

Received: 2023-08-15 Accepted : 2023-12-06 Published : 2023-12-06

Keywords: Sistan, chronology, pottery, methodical survey, middle centuries of Islam, Madrish castle,

Abstract :

The Sistan plain in the north of Sistan and Baluchistan province in the southeast of Iran, with suitable biological conditions, including fertile soil, a series of permanent and seasonal rivers, and a communication and commercial position as one of the most important centers of human societie is known in ancient times. Based on this and despite the limited archaeological activities in this field and the lack of comprehensive archaeological information from the historical periods of the region, it is necessary to carry out a systematic study and survey on one of the most important Islamic castles of this plain. For this purpose, in July of 2015, during the survey and speculation project in order to determine the area and propose the boundaries of the Bibi Doost hill chain, a methodical survey of Madrish Castle, which is located in a part of the northern area of the Bibi Doost area It was done by using the method of "methodical sampling of classified indicators". In this sampling, 218 ancient findings such as: broken pieces of pottery, stone vessels, manganese (glass bangles) and broken pieces of glassware were collected. In line with the objectives of the research, 77 pieces of indicative pottery were selected and subjected to typological comparisons. In this research, the basic question is: What period or era is the age of Madrish Castle through classification, typology and comparative studies of pottery? The method of data collection in this research is field and document methods, and descriptive-comparative research method, and the results have been analyzed based on comparative studies. The results of the studies carried out in this site clearly indicate the settlement date of the middle centuries of 5th to 9th A.H. And it shows the cultural connection of this region with neighboring regions such as Greater Khorasan, Afghanistan, Kerman and Baluchistan. Also, the significant and abundant type of pottery in this area is the unglazed pottery with carved motifs and geometric motifs.