SHAMI Valley
Friends of nature, landscape, cultural history and heritage of Bakhtiari people
Anthrosols detection in the plain of Izeh
Vito Messina (Università di Torino – Centro Scavi di Torino)*
Jafar Mehr Kian (ICAR)The plain of Izeh was a pivotal region of ancient Elam/Elymais. It is a mountainous valley of interface between Susiana and the Iranian Plateau, of which the patterns of settlement were studied only to a very limited extent.
The aim of this paper is to verify the possibility of investigating ancient settlements on the basis of the detection of anthrosols thanks to the observation of multispectral satellite imagery.
May this be a strong and lasting memory of the mother and help to the region...
Lets know..
Kal-e Chendar, in the valley of Shami (Iranian Khuzistan)
Bakhtiyari Nomads
In Bakhtiari’s land , environment, human presence has been (and still is characterized by a high degree of integration with the mountain. Both the art and architecture witnessed in these highland regions since the 3rd millennium BCE testify to the cultural reception of the mountain as a part of daily life and local ideology. The use of strategies meant to minimize the human impact on the natural setting is likewise attested: studies of landscape archaeology show that processes of land-catching and resource exploitation have been influenced by the preservation of natural features as much as possible.
Bakhtiari’s way of life, characterized by a certain isolation and intertribal marriages, probably help them to keep their lineage almost intact. The Tribal structure was likewise preserved, even in small towns such as Izeh, the main centre of the highlands. The famous documentary Grass: A Nation's Battle for Life (1925) tells the story of the migration of Bakhtiari tribes from winter to summer places. Such a migration, narrated also in further documentaries, is probably the most important intangible heritage of these people. Bakhtiaris primarily inhabit Chaharmahal Bakhtiari and eastern Khuzestan, Lorestan, Bushehr, and Isfahan provinces.
Bakhtiari tribes have an especially large population concentration in the cities of Masjed Soleyman, Izeh, Shahr-e Kord , and Andika, and the surrounding villages. A small percentage of Bakhtiari are still nomadic pastoralists, migrating between summer quarters (sardsīr or yaylāq) and winter quarters (garmsīr or qishlāq).
It is worthy of mention that Bakhtiari’s' way of life is based on sustainability: pastoralism, low-built environments and non-intensive agriculture allow human communities to live in perfect symbiosis with the mountains.
However, in modern times, such a way of life is being changed by globalization and such an intangible heritage needs to be protected. To keep alive this way of life will also contribute to protect the mountains from urbanization processes that are evident in other parts of the Iranian Plateau.
Elymaian Archaeology
Kal-e Chendar, in the valley of Shami (Iranian Khuzistan), a site investigated in 1936 by Aurel Stein after the accidental discovery of a well-known bronze statue portraying a Parthian nobleman, and never visited again. It was potentially one of the most important religious places of Hellenistic and Parthian Elymais, and this is confirmed by the present survey, which revealed the presence of monumental terraces built in undressed stones, decayed structures, and tombs over an area extending about 50 ha.
Shami Valley acquires an archaeological importance as mountainous sanctuaries of ancient elymais. Area of the discovery of the famous Shami man and for the presence of the important archaeological site of Kal-e Chendar where, in recent years, it has been the place of work of the joint Italian-Iranian archaeological missions . Below are the descriptions taken from the publications of Jafar Mehrkian and Vito Messina.
Bakhtiari tribes have an especially large population concentration in the cities of Masjed Soleyman, Izeh, Shahr-e Kord , and Andika, and the surrounding villages. A small percentage of Bakhtiari are still nomadic pastoralists, migrating between summer quarters (sardsīr or yaylāq) and winter quarters (garmsīr or qishlāq).
On January 1936, Aurel Stein was informed of the accidental discovery of outstanding antiquities in the village of Kal-e Chendar, in the Shami Valley He conducted an excavation at the site after visiting the site and observing some notable finds from this site and nearby regions including several fragments of marble sculptures dated from the Hellenistic to the Parthian periods, and a well preserved bronze statue, portraying a nobleman in Parthian dress from the nearby city of Izeh The latter is now hosted by the Iranian National Museum in Tehran.
Together with his Iranian colleague Curtis and Pazooki, 2004, Stein, in few days, recovered the remains of a rectangular enclosure built on stone foundations, a rectangular baked brick platform, and several stone bases, as the support of ancient statues which are now lost. Aurel Stein’s report on his 1936 excavation at Kal-e Chendar was published in 1940 It was based on his notes and diaries almost daily, along with a series of pictures of the fieldwork of which only two were published) and a contour line map of the area. Stein only briefly surveyed the site, however, several ruins and a number of ancient graves mentioned in his report, were not precisely recorded and placed on his map Both structures and findings induced him to identify the site as an ancient sanctuary, and this has been considered, in the subsequent literature, as one of the most reputed religious places of Hellenistic and Parthian Elymais.
Iran italia , Khouzestan expedition
The Iranian-Italian Joint Expedition in Khuzestan conducts research in the area of the modern city of Izeh, on the road through the Baktiari mountain from Ahwaz to Isfahan and Shiraz. Fieldwork started at Hung-e Azhdar, a village located at the entrance of a Valley about 17 km north of Izeh, and continue at Kal-e Chendar, in the valley of Shami, about 15 km further to the north. This project, which purposes to investigate the traces of ancient Elymais, falls within the frame of cultural agreements renewed through 5 years Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the Iranian Center for Archaeological Research (ICAR) of the Research Center of the Iranian Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization of the Islamic Republic of Iran (RICHT) and the Centro Scavi Torino (CRAST). Other Institutions involved in the project are the Department of Archtitecture and Design of the Polytechnic of Torino (DAD, former DITAG), and the Department of Historical Studies of the University of Torino (DSS, former SAAST). The expedition is partially financed by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) and has been financed by the Fondazione CRT up to 2010.
Sito: Khuzestan
Direttori: Vito Messina (CRAST), Jafar Mehr Kian (RICHT-ICAR)
Anni: 2008-2017
More Information : https://www.centroscavitorino.it
Related Articles
-
My dear mother's paints
These are just a small part of my mother's art works. Look at some her beautiful paints
Read more -
Bakhtiari traditional mourning music at Mom's burial.
An ancient Bakhtiari tradition wants that important people are welcomed to the burial with the traditional musical instruments played in mourning sung by the famous master of traditional singing Mr Koohyar who gave with his beautiful voice a intense meaning of the beautiful Bakhìtiari tradition.
Read more -
Researches
Relevant papers about Archaeology research done basically by Universities of Turin by Prof Messina and Dr Mehrkian.
Read more -
Rremembrance of mother
This remembrance will take place at the grave of the deceased, and it will involve the local population of the villages of Charmorun and Kolchandar in the Shami Valley, located in the city of Izeh in the Khuzestan region of Iran.
Read more -
That's some awesome article
Mewl for food at 4am chase mice. Scratch leg; meow for can opener to feed me purr when being pet nya nya nyan catasstrophe, fooled again thinking the dog likes me cough hairball on conveniently placed pants.
Read more -
Just a lot or articles !
Mewl for food at 4am chase mice. Scratch leg; meow for can opener to feed me purr when being pet nya nya nyan catasstrophe, fooled again thinking the dog likes me cough hairball on conveniently placed pants.
Read more