Study and Analysis of Excavation Findings from Site No. 19 in the Cham-e Shir Dam Area, Gachsaran County (Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province, Iran)

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 PhD in Archaeology, Yasouj of University, Yasouj, Iran.

2 Department of Archaeology, University of Neyshabur, Neyshabur, Iran.

3 Department of Archaeology, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran.

10.22111/ijas.2026.52366.1352

Abstract

According to written historical sources, the Gachsaran region, which was one of the outposts of the Arjan state and part of the mountainous territory inhabited by the nomads of the Kuhgiluyeh, was significant due to its role in the Arjan-Shiraz route. Archaeological studies conducted in the catchment area of the Cham-e-Shir Dam allowed for the excavation of several sites, including Building No. 1 at Site No. 19. This building was the largest on the site and likely served as its most important structure in terms of size. The primary objectives of the excavation, carried out in the fall of 2021, were to assess the role of this site and building in the administration and security of the region's road, as well as their social, administrative, and economic roles in stabilising the power of local nomads. This site was inhabited in two distinct phases during the third to sixth centuries AH. Examining settlement deposits indicates these two phases of occupation, though historical texts do not provide clear connections to them. Ethno-archaeological studies conducted by the researchers in the spring of 2024 for one month in the areas of Behbahan, Kohgiluyeh, Gachsaran, and Boyer-Ahmad revealed that the excavated building at Site No. 19, with its short walls, material types, and plan, resembled other nomadic structures in the region. The two-part structure of the plan of each room indicated that these rooms probably had a public section and a private section. The absence of objects on the floor of the building, except for two potsherds, indicated that the area was deliberately abandoned. Considering the contents of historical texts from the Islamic era, as well as the correspondence of the data obtained from the excavation with these texts, it seems that the residents of Site No. 19 of Cham-e Shir Dam could have played a role as part of a military force ready to serve the ruler of the region if necessary.

Keywords

References

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Iranian Journal of Archaeological Studies
Volume 16, Issue 1
2026
Pages 73-90

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