A Survey on Parthian Pithos Cemeteries on The Western Bank of The Little Zab River, Sardasht Region, Northwest Iran

Salimi, Salah; Dehpahlavan, Mostafa; MacGinnis, John

doi:10.1080/05786967.2021.1889928

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

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“…It can be surmised that the persons placed in jar burials in the western building were of high social status, based upon the prominent location of these interments. Jar burials are a common form of pre-Islamic burial in the Zagros region dating from the Iron Age through to the late Sasanian period (Farjamirad 2015: 17-18;Salimi et al 2021). Although intramural burials of this type are relatively rare, Parthian era examples are known from Susa, e.g., in the Ville des Artisans, where ovoid and cylindrical pithoi often lined with bitumen contained predominantly child burials (Boucharlat and Haerinck 2011: 37-41).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Possible Parthian-Era Anahita Sanctuary at Rabana in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq

Brown,

Rashid

2023

Iraq

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Rabana-Merquly was a major regional centre of the Parthian era in the central Zagros highlands. This article explores the hypothesis that the Rabana intramural settlement was in part a ‘sanctuary’ devoted to the ancient Persian water goddess Anahita, based upon extensive architectural augmentations around an ephemeral waterfall, combined with the nearby construction of a probable fire altar. Two jar burials excavated in 2022 inside an adjacent building show this complex also functioned as a mausoleum. Carbon-14 dating of these cremation deposits supports occupation of the site during the second to first centuries B.C. Twin rock reliefs at the entrances to Rabana-Merquly indicate that the fortress was likely associated with the ruling dynasty of Adiabene, a vassal kingdom of the Parthian (or Arsacid) Empire in north-east Mesopotamia. A further link to Natounissarokerta/Natounia on the Kapros is suggested by the iconography of that city's coinage, which features an obverse image of a goddess, potentially a hybrid representation of Anahita-Tyche.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%