Lameh-Zaminلمه زمین
Location: Lameh-Zamin is the name ancient graveyard on the east side of the Sefid Rud in northern Iran, the Gilan Province.
36°56’30.9″N 49°33’09.0″E
Map
Historical Period
Iron Age II/III
History and description
The site of Lameh-Zamin is located on the right bank of the Sefid Rūd to the north of the village of Shahrān. The graveyard is in the middle of a large field of shrubs. The site was found accidentally during the construction of a small road.
The archaeological excavations uncovered a series of tombs. The tombs at Lameh-Zamin are all of a simple "catacomb" type excavated in the earth. A circle of boulders indicated the presence of each grave. Two types of graves are recognized at Lameh Zamin. The first type is one in which the inhumation was placed directly below the circle of boulders; in the second type, the body was placed in a side chamber at the base of the shaft (LZ 103, 105, and 107). According to the excavators, the tombs of adults were circular or oval in shape (LZ 105), while the tombs of children were roughly rectangular (LZ 104).
Archaeological Exploration
The site of Lameh-Zamin was excavated by Shinji Fukai and Toshio Matsutani on behalf of the University of Tokyo in 1978.
Finds
Typical types of the late Iron Age period (Gray Ware and Orange Ware); a handful of personal ornaments in bronze; daggers; cylinder seals and beads in stone.
Bibliography
Fukai, Sh. and T. Matsutani, Halimehjan II. The Excavation at Lameh-Zamin, 1978, Tokyo, 1982.
