Tal-e Atashi
Tal-e Atashi
Late 5th millennium BCE·Kerman Chalcolithic·🇮🇷 Kerman Province, Bam plain, Iran
About
About Tal-e Atashi
Tal-e Atashi in Kerman Province, Bam plain, Iran is a Late 5th millennium BCE tell attributed to Kerman Chalcolithic. Chalcolithic village near Bam with mudbrick houses. Stratified deposits with radiocarbon sequence and imported materials trace long-distance exchange. Systematic and rescue excavations exposed houses, fortifications and craft zones preserved as a multi-period tell on aerial imagery.
Why it mattersKey Kerman Chalcolithic sequence for Kerman Province, Bam plain; defines regional chronology for Late 5th millennium BCE.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Phasing precision vs radiocarbon plateau
- 02Ritual vs domestic architecture?
Theories
- 01Regional centre model
- 02ceremonial/territorial marker
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.4300–4000 BCE
- Period
- Late 5th millennium BCE
- Culture
- Kerman Chalcolithic
- Purpose
- Chalcolithic village near Bam with mudbrick houses
- Rediscovered
- 1987 survey; systematic excavations
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
c.4300
Initial founding / earliest level
c.2000 BCE
Major architectural rephase — walls and houses rebuilt in stone/mudbrick
2012
Modern systematic excavations / rescue programme
On the ground
Structures & features
29.1000° N · 58.3600° E · 1060 m · 3 mapped features
Tal-e Atashi — Central mound/acropolis
structureMain stratified summit with houses/fortifications and sequence
29.1003° N · 58.3602° ETal-e Atashi — Lower town / extramural area
complexLower town or extramural cemetery/workshop zone
29.0996° N · 58.3603° ETal-e Atashi — Craft / midden quarter
workshopWorkshop or midden with pottery and tools
29.1002° N · 58.3596° E
Gallery