On the Ground. The Archaeological Site of Istakhr

This paper presents an overview of the site and remains of Istakhr as documented by the joint Iranian-Italian Archaeological Mission at Istakhr between 2011 and 2015, a map with the archaeological indicators recorded on the terrain, and a detailed list of those indicators. The new data provides for provisional reflections on the diachronic development of the settlement. No evidence has emerged of the pre-Sasanian history of the site. The walled town may have had up to seven or ten gates. During the 9th-10th centuries, a dense settlement is attested as having stood within and beyond the walled town (at least to the south and on two small mounds to the east). The 11th century seems to have seen a reduction in size of the occupation, although a more precise dating of some ceramic wares in the future may prove the contrary. In the 13-15th centuries, continuous human presence is only attested in a small area to the north within the walls, and possibly on the north-eastern mound. Porcelain fragments, stone heaps that may be tombs, and a sizeable enclosure called Takht-i ṭāvūs, point to the sporadic presence of semi-nomadic groups at least in the 19th-20th centuries.