Tepe Yahya

Tapeh Yahya is an archaeological site in Kermān Province, Iran, some 220 km south of Kerman city, 90 km south of Baft city and 90 km south-west of Jiroft. The easternmost occupation of the Proto-Elamite culture was found there.

History


Habitation spans the 6th to 2nd millennia BC and the 10th to 4th centuries BC.

In the middle of the 2nd millennium BC, the city was a production center of chlorite stone ware; these carved dark stone vessels have been found in ancient Mesopotamian temples.

Steatite was also very common at this site. Nearby, a steatite mine has been discovered. Over a thousand steatite pieces belonging to Period IVB were found, indicating local manufacturing.

The distribution of these vessels was very wide. They were found not only in Mesopotamia, but also in Bampur IV, and in Shahr-i Sokhta. They were also found in the lower levels at Mohenjodaro. Steatite bowls with similar motifs are also found on Tarut island, and copies have been found at Umm-an Nar in the Persian Gulf.

Archaeology
The site is a circular mound, around 20 meters in height and around 187 meters in diameter. It was excavated in six seasons (1968-1971, 1973, 1975) by the American School of Prehistoric Research of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology of Harvard University in a joint operation with what is now the Shiraz University. The expedition was under the direction of C. C. Lamberg-Karlovsky. Jane Britton was one of the excavators on the dig in 1968.

Periodization is as follows:


 * Period I Sasanian pre: 200 BC – 400 AD
 * Period II Achaemenian: 275–500 BC
 * Period III Iron Age: 500–1000 BC
 * Abandonment
 * Period IV A Shahdad/Kaftari - late 3rd to early 2nd millennium BC
 * Period IV B Halil Rud Civilization - 2nd half of 3rd millennium BC
 * Abandonment
 * Period IV C Proto-Elamite: circa 3000 BC
 * Abandonment
 * Period V Yahya Culture: 3400–3800 BC
 * Period VI Coarse Ware-Neolithic: 3800–4500 BC
 * Period VII Neolithic 4500–5500 BC

In the Neolithic period VII strata an extremely detailed green soapstone female figurine, of a phallic nature, was found. It featured eight individually drilled orifices. An associated charcoal sample was submitted for radiocarbon dating.

In the late 4th millennium BC IV C period strata (comparable with levels 14–16 at Susa) a large Proto-Elamite monumental building, occupied for less than a century ,was constructed which covered most of the top of the mound. The design was similar to other Proto-Elamite sites and to the Uruk site at Habuba Kabira in Syria. Construction used a standardized 48 centimeter long by 24 centimeter wide by 8 centimeter thick brick throughout the complex. About 500 square meters of the complex have been excavated. The buildings were designed and constructed from the outside in using a base measure of 72 centimeters. The researcher noted this is close to the "large cubit" measure used throughout the ancient Near East. The first Proto-Elamite tablets were found on the floors.

Among the discoveries were two Iron Age platforms from the Achaemenid period.

Metallurgy
Three metal artifacts were found at the site, a copper shaft-hole axe from layer IVB5, a copper/lead theriomorphic figurine (listed as being found in IVB), and copper spearhead from layer IVC2. The 10.6% lead content of the figurine shows that it was actually from the Late Uruk period.

A related site is Tal-i Iblis, where early metallurgy has also been attested.

Early writing
To Period IVC belong twenty seven proto-Elamite tablets that have been recovered. Also, eighty-four tablet blanks indicate that writing was being practiced at Yahya. These finds are similar to the discoveries at Susa Cb and Sialk IV.