Tol-e Qaleh Seyfābād (TQS), a Major Provincial Centre of the Sasanian Period in Bišābuhr Province, Fars, Iran. Preliminary Excavation Report

Parsa Ghasemi (1) , Mohammad Reza Noruzi , Rika Gyselen (2) , Marjan Mashkour (3) , Aziz Rezaei

1 ArScAn - Archéologies et Sciences de l'Antiquité
2 Mondes Iranien et Indien - UMR 7528
3 AASPE - Archéozoologie, archéobotanique : sociétés, pratiques et environnements

The site of Tol-e Qaleh Seyfābād (TQS) is located in the centre of the Sasanian province of Bišābuhr, in southwestern Iran. The first season of archaeological excavations at this site in 2014 revealed new evidence of the Sasanian period related to advanced agricultural policy, large-scale date production, and commercial and provincial administrative systems, as well as other activities in the heartland of the empire. The finds from this limited excavation indicate that agriculture was an important source of income in what is now the province of Fars and the newly identified administrative toponyms impressed on bullae show that TQS acted as a centre for collection, storage and processing of the agriculture products of the date palm. In terms of its administrative system, a more detailed picture of the Bišābuhr province has emerged, resulting from the identification of more new administrations. Moreover, new evidence relating to architecture, pottery, glass and other industries from TQS demonstrate that this site was one of the major hubs in Bišābuhr province during the Sasanian period.

Mots clés: Tol-e Qaleh Seyfābād (TQS); Sasanian Empire; Bišābuhr Province; Archaeological Excavation; Kāzerūn; Iran

Domaines: Archéologie et Préhistoire

Parsa Ghasemi, Mohammad Reza Noruzi, Rika Gyselen, Marjan Mashkour, Aziz Rezaei. Tol-e Qaleh Seyfābād (TQS), a Major Provincial Centre of the Sasanian Period in Bišābuhr Province, Fars, Iran. Preliminary Excavation Report. Ancient Near Eastern Studies , 2020, 57, pp.259-297. ⟨10.2143/ANES.57.0.3288618⟩. ⟨hal-03028712⟩