Abstract The set of silver vessels from the Isakovka-I necropolis is represented both by types known from reliable finds only in Southern Italy and the Black Sea region (hemispherical bowls with polygonal decoration), and in the Pontic region (conical bowl decorated with a rosette and a garland), as well as segmented in profile bowls with chased decoration, the reliable finds of which are unknown. The whole series may originate from Iran. In this regard the Khwarezmian and Parthian inscriptions on the vessels from Isakovka are extremely important. In general, the vessels from Isakovka show quite a significant chronological scatter. It can be assumed that the bowls found in Isakovka and Sidorovka could have been stored for a long time in temple treasuries, for example, in Parthia or Asia Minor, before they were acquired by the nomads.
Abstract This study analyzes the Classical Period grave finds discovered during excavations at the Southern-Tavşandere Necropolis of Parion in northwestern Anatolia. The assemblage consists mainly of ceramics, together with a small number of metal objects and a spindle whorl. Both in situ and ex situ finds were analyzed through contextual and typological comparisons to evaluate the historical development of Western Anatolia and Parion’s role within this process. The evidence demonstrates that Parion preserves a more continuous Classical Period chronology than many neighboring cities. Grave contexts indicate intensive use of the necropolis between 490–475 BC , while isolated materials reveal continued burying activity throughout the whole Classical Period. Numerous Attic imports, including unique funerary objects such as a lamp lid, reflect Parion’s economic prosperity and strong commercial connections with Attica. The archaeological evidence presented in this study also supports ancient literary sources indicating that Parion escaped any major destruction during the Ionian Revolt.
Abstract This article attempts to utilize existing datasets for Ai Khanoum and Taxila’s Sirkap Mound from the 2nd century BC –1st century AD to map out and compare their religious landscapes. Using basic geospatial and tabular analysis, the article proposes that ruling elites in the two urban landscapes used distinct methods to handle religious diversity in dialectical relationships with other social classes, impacting each settlement’s urban configuration. The major research question being explored for the article revolves around the spread of Greek, Iranian and Indian religious traditions, and their manifestations within the urban landscape, as well as how this relates to the ideology of those religions and the class relations of the period. The two cities are useful furthering the understanding of how religious diversity unfolded in urban landscapes and distinct regional strategies in visual and religious hybridity.’
Abstract Excavations at the multi-layered site of Khovle Gora, conducted from 1954 to 1961, made an important contribution to the relative chronology of ceramic development in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age of Georgia. This work remains a fundamental reference for the Shida Kartli region and beyond due to its close cultural relation with the burial ground and the eponymous material culture of Samtavro. More recent investigations by the Georgian-Austrian expedition at Khovle Gora have comprehensively reconstructed the earlier excavations, laying the basis for a general reassessment of the stratigraphy and dating of the settlement sequence. The results largely confirm Muskhelishvili’s stratigraphic classification of pottery development but propose a new, considerably shorter chronology of this sequence based on radiocarbon dates, exclusively to the Early Iron Age.
Abstract This study examines two fragmentary Urartian clay tablets from Sardurihinili, currently preserved in the Archaeological Museum of Istanbul, with a focus on their significance for understanding ethnic and administrative organization within the fortress. The tablets enumerate individuals performing specific administrative or military functions, often identified according to their ethnic or territorial origins. Correlation with Sarduri’s campaigns in the Sevan basin and other contemporary Urartian inscriptions suggests that these individuals likely originated from the lands of Etiu, Teria, and Adahu and were resettled in Sardurihinili as part of the kingdom’s strategies for population management, military organization, and administrative integration. The analysis further demonstrates that the appearance of officials’ names formed from ethnic or territorial designations reflects the deliberate incorporation of conquered populations into Urartian governance structures. These findings provide new insight into mechanisms of ethnic integration, population resettlement, and personnel organization in the Urartian Kingdom.
