Tepe Hissar
Chalcolithic to Early Bronze (c.4300–1900 BCE)·Hissar I–IIIC·🇮🇷 Semnan Province, North-Central Iran, Iran
About
About Tepe Hissar
Damghan plain 40-ha complex with three mounds: Hissar IIIB–C painted/grey ware, lapis bead workshop, arsenical bronze workshop, “Burnt Building” massacre layer ~1900 BCE with 11 skeletons and Grey Ware genesis, linking Andronovo/Caucasus to Plateau. Tepe Hissar — The Burnt City of the Damghan Plain context and stratigraphy linking to regional chronology.
Why it mattersTepe Hissar — The Burnt City of the Damghan Plain
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Stratigraphic relation to neighboring cultures?
Theories
- 01Regional trade node
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- Occupied Chalcolithic to Early Bronze (c.4300–1900 BCE)
- Period
- Chalcolithic to Early Bronze (c.4300–1900 BCE)
- Culture
- Hissar I–IIIC
- Builders
- Local communities
- Purpose
- Metallurgy and painted grey ware transition mound; largest mound of north-central Iran
- Abandoned
- post-period
- Rediscovered
- 19th-century surveys, modern excavations
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
Chalcolithic to Early Bronze
Metallurgy and painted grey ware transition mound; largest mound of north-central Iran
On the ground
Structures & features
36.1545° N · 54.3850° E · 450 m · 2 mapped features
Burnt Building Massacre Level
buildingIIIC hall with fallen bodies and charred destruction
36.1550° N · 54.3860° ELapis and Bronze Workshop Quarter
workshopBead drill station and copper-smelting crucibles
36.1540° N · 54.3840° E