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A preliminary survey at the circular city of Darabgird, Iran

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 April 2026

Hassan Karimian  and
Sasan Seyedein
Hassan Karimian*
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, University of Tehran, Iran
Sasan Seyedein*
Affiliation:
Institute of Archaeology, University of Tehran, Iran
*
(Email: hkarimi@ut.ac.ir)
(Email: seyedein@ut.ac.ir)

Abstract

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Information

Type
Rapid Communication
Information
Antiquity Project Gallery , Volume 84 , Issue 324 , June 2010 , pp. 1 - 4
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), [2010]. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Antiquity Publications Ltd.

Introduction

Darabgird is a circular city located in southern Iran, 9km south-west of modern-day Darab (28°41'N, 54°28'E) (Figures 1 and 2). It was thought to have flourished in the Sasanian period of the third to seventh centuries AD (Le Strange 1905; Van Den Bergh 1959; Reference BartoldBartold 1984; Reference KarimianKarimian 2010). Our campaign of fieldwork has confirmed this as the main period of occupation, located activity areas and tracked the use of the site until its probable abandonment in the Seljuk period around 1000 years ago.

Figure 1.

Aerial view of Darabgird.

Figure 2.

Location of Darabgird in southern Iran.

Figure 3.

Mound at the centre of Darabgird.

Survey results

The main structure of the city consists of the following elements:

  • • circular fortifications comprising a rampart, ditch and other related features;

  • • route systems, consisting of four gates and four main streets;

  • • residential zones, the four areas are enclosed by the four main streets;

  • • a government citadel, located on high ground at the centre of the city (Figure 3);

  • • an irrigation network (an artificial channel has been located).

In the new campaign of fieldwork the site was divided into a grid comprised of 41 blocks, each block measuring 27.16 x 30.79m (836.46m2 in total) and aligned NS-EW. Surface collection recovered 994 objects, the majority of which are ceramics (91.14%). Of other diagnostic objects identified, slag was found distributed over 2.51% of the total area, with concentrations in metalworking areas (92%) and pottery kilns (8%). Evidence of manufacturing is largely concentrated in Darabgird's south-west district, suggesting an industrial zone.

Figure 4.

Sasanian period ceramics from Darabgird.

The dating evidence from artefacts indicates that the principal period of occupation of Darabgird was Sasanian (Figure 4; Table 1). The ceramics also indicate that in the north-west district of the city in particular, settlement continued throughout the early Islamic period and to the end of the Seljuk period (AD 1157). Architectural remains found in the north-west district of the city (e.g. column bases; Reference MorganMorgan 2003) suggest that this area may have had particular significance which could offer an explanation for its continued occupation.

Table 1.Percentage of ceramics from the Sasanian, early Islamic and Seljuk periods at Darabgird. (Totals do not equal 100 due to the presence of small percentages of sherds belonging to other periods.)

According to Mostowfi Qazvini, Darabgird was deserted as late as the fourteenth century AD (eighth century AH; Reference Huff and KianiHuff 1995: 420). However, archaeological investigation has so far only revealed artefacts from as late as the Seljuk period (AD 1037-1157).

Figure 5a.

Early Islamic period ceramics from Darabgird.

Figure 5b.

Early Islamic period ceramics from Darabgird.

Figure 5c.

Early Islamic period ceramics from Darabgird.

Conclusions

The results of the survey suggest that the main period of occupation of Darabgird was Sasanian. Following the decline of the Sasanian kingdom, the southern districts of the city were virtually deserted. By contrast, the northern half of the city, especially the north-west, saw development throughout the Islamic period and into the Seljuk period in the twelfth century AD.

References

Bartold, V. 1984. An historical geography of Iran. Translated by S. Soucek. Princeton (NJ): Princeton University Press. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huff, D. 1995. Darab: State capital, in Kiani, M. Iranian capitals: 407-46. Tehran: Iranian Cultural Heritage Organisation. Google Scholar
Karimian, H. 2010. Cities and social order in Sasanian Iran — the archaeological potential. Antiquity 84: PAGE NOS TO FOLLOW. Google Scholar
Le Strange, G. 1905. The lands of the eastern Caliphate: Mesopotamia, Persia, and Central Asia from the Moslem conquest to the time of the Timur. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar
Morgan, P. 2003. Some remarks on a preliminary survey in eastern Fars. Iran 41: 323-38. 10.2307/4300653CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Muqaddasi, A. 1982. Ahsan at-Taqasim fi Ma'rifat il-Aqalim. Second edition. Tehran: Iranian Authors and Translators Publications. Google Scholar
Van Den Bergh, L. 1959. Archéologie de l'Iran Ancien. Leiden: Brill. Google Scholar
Figure 0

Figure 1. Aerial view of Darabgird.

Figure 1

Figure 2. Location of Darabgird in southern Iran.

Figure 2

Figure 3. Mound at the centre of Darabgird.

Figure 3

Figure 4. Sasanian period ceramics from Darabgird.

Figure 4

Table 1. Percentage of ceramics from the Sasanian, early Islamic and Seljuk periods at Darabgird. (Totals do not equal 100 due to the presence of small percentages of sherds belonging to other periods.)

Figure 5

Figure 5a. Early Islamic period ceramics from Darabgird.

Figure 6

Figure 5b. Early Islamic period ceramics from Darabgird.

Figure 7

Figure 5c. Early Islamic period ceramics from Darabgird.