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Early Sasanian landscape modification: New geoarchaeological evidence from the Ardashir Pond in southwest Iran (Palace of Ardashir, third century CE)
Author(s) -
Djamali Morteza,
Rashidian Elnaz,
AskariChaverdi Alireza,
Aubert Cyril,
Brisset Elodie,
Demory François,
Faucherre Nicolas,
Gandouin Emmanuel,
Lahijani Hamid,
Marriner Nick,
NaderiBeni Abdolmajid,
Parnell Andrew
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
geoarchaeology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.696
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1520-6548
pISSN - 0883-6353
DOI - 10.1002/gea.21880
Subject(s) - period (music) , geoarchaeology , accelerator mass spectrometry , radiocarbon dating , wetland , archaeology , structural basin , arid , geography , geology , paleontology , ecology , art , biology , aesthetics
The Sasanian period (224–651 CE) marked an era of large‐scale urban projects in southwest Asia, including Iran's semi‐arid highlands, with particular efforts to manipulate water bodies. This study presents a recent interdisciplinary investigation of a spring‐fed pond at the entrance of the Palace of Ardashir (Firuzabad plain, southwest Iran), part of a recently registered World Heritage site. Historical accounts suggest that the entire water system of the plain, including the pond, underwent a hydraulic re‐organization at the beginning of the Sasanian period, a fact that has never been investigated geoarchaeologically. A series of sediment cores were retrieved from the pond to probe its evolution and examine the extent of its landscape modification. The cores were sedimentologically described and radiocarbon‐dated with age–depth models established based on 57 AMS (accelerator mass spectrometry) 14 C dates to understand the basin's depositional history. The results indicate that (i) Ardashir Pond has existed as part of a larger wetland complex since at least 4500 years ago, (ii) it was substantially enlarged at the beginning of the Sasanian era, and (iii) it was abandoned at the end of the Sasanian period. The Ardashir Pond is one of the first geoarchaeologically investigated case studies to demonstrate the Sasanian landscape in the framework of the “Iranshahr” sociopolitical concept.