Persepolis West (Fars, Iran): Report on the field work carried out by the Iranian-Italian Joint Archaeological Mission in 2008-2009

The volume represents the final report of the field work carried out at the site of Persepolis West in Central Fars (Iran), in the area where the town of Parsa has been located on the basis of written sources and surface surveys. The activities carried out by the Iranian-Italian Joint Archaeological Mission in Fars have included the excavation of stratigraphic trenches in areas indicated by the geophysical study. Along with the description of the trenches and of their stratigraphy, the report includes the geophysical investigations on the topographical context and the study of the materials from the excavations, ceramics and other finds. Thus the volume represents the first study of the town of Parsa and its material culture based on up-to-date multidisciplinary archaeological methods. The relative chronology deriving from the archaeological study has found absolute references in a series of radiocarbon datings. The geophysical investigations discussed in the volume have been the basis for an interpretation of the vast area of the site of Persepolis West as well as the primary step for the selection of the excavation areas and the interpretation of their topographic context. The information resulting from the excavations of the eleven trenches, grouped in Areas A to Area E, bears a particular importance for the archaeology of Persepolis, being the first work based on stratigraphic methodology specifically dedicated to the town of Parsa. The stratigraphic sequences thus obtained provide a solid basis for the study of the architectural features and particularly for finds. The section of the volume dedicated to ceramics comprises the investigation of physical features, with a quantitative study of all the recovered potsherds, and the detailed study of diagnostic ceramics from the trenches which yielded more material, Trench Tr. 4 and Trench Tr. 6; the diagnostic fragments are described and illustrated through tables and plates. The detail of the published information, supported by the stratigraphic information, allows for a better definition of the "Late Plain Ware" of the Early Historic Central Fars. The other finds are presented through a catalogue raisonné of the inventoried objects, which represents an innovative tool for the study of the material culture of the area. The chronology deriving from the archaeological study is supported by the radiocarbon analyses carried out by Accelerator Mass Spectrometry at the Center for Isotopic Research on the Cultural and Environmental Heritage (CIRCE), Dept. of Physics and Mathematics, University L. Vanvitelli and INNOVA, Caserta (Italy) which are given and discussed in detail. The results of the two excavation seasons at Persepolis West have shown the appropriateness of the methodology adopted since stratigraphic excavation has allowed checking many of the inferences deriving from geophysical investigations. They have also produced the first actual evidence of the existence of an inhabited settlement next to the Persepolis Terrace.