Tom -e Gavan: Unveiling the early Iron age in the Jiroft plain, southeastern Iran

Abstract

Unlike the well -documented Bronze Age, the Iron Age of southeastern Iran remains largely elusive. Apart from the limited information derived from the levels of Tepe Yahya III, dating back to Iron Age III period (ca. 800 BCE), little is known about the Iron Age history of the region. The recent excavation of the early Iron Age levels at Tom -e Gavan in the Jiroft Plain has yielded for the first time well -dated material, shedding light on this enigmatic era.

The first season's excavations at Tom -e Gavan revealed in the center of the mound (referred to as Area A) a high mud -brick platform of the late second millennium BCEE. Five radiocarbon samples obtained from the occupation levels associated to the platform span from 1250 to 1000 BCE. The new data from Tom -e Gavan provides fresh evidence of cultural connections that existed between southeastern Iran, southeastern Arabia and Central Asia during the last quarter of the second millennium BCE^.