Name
Qara Tepe/Kara Tepe, Shahryarقره تپه، شهریار
Map
Historical Period
Neolithic
History and description
Qara Tepe is a small, low mound, in the vicinity of the village of Qara Tepe in the plain of Shahryar, 20 km to the southwest of the city of Tehran. The mound suffered from dense farming and industrial activities and has now been reduced to desiccated heaps of earth. In 1957, the mound measures 120 x 75 m with a height of 14 m above the surrounding plain.
The importance of the site lies in its archaeological finds excavated in 1957. Qara Tepe yielded painted pottery similar to that of Tepe Mushalan, Cheshmeh Ali, and Sialk II. It is red and handmade. Based on the pottery evidence, the site seems to date to the late 5th millennium B.C. The excavated architectural remains consist of several hearths and ovens, which, according to the excavator, were used for baking; the excavator also reports on mud-brick walls, some of which were plastered with red mud. According to the excavator, at Qara Tepe there was the discovery of a sewer in the ground about two feet below the “ancient surface,” connected to a pit filled with stones by a channel in the ground. The drain was close to the edge of the mound and led to an outward slope. There were also several burials, and the majority of pottery vessels must have been found in graves.
Archaeological Exploration
Theodore Burton Brown, the British archaeologist, excavated at Qara Tepe in the fall of 1957. The excavations sponsored by private funds and the Ashmolean Museum of the University of Oxford. The final report was privately published in 1979.
Finds
Excavated finds consist of painted pottery vessels, typical of the Cheshmeh Ali and Sialk II type; stone tools such as cherts, a door socket in stone, and flints; animal bones.
Bibliography
Burton-Brown, T., “Excavations at Shahyriar, Iran,” Archaeology, vol. 15, No. 1, March 1962, pp. 27-31
Burton-Brown, T., “Kara Tepe,” in Excavations in Iran. The British Contribution, Oxford, pp. 15-16.
Burton-Brown, T., Excavation at Kara Tepe 1957, Wootton, Woodstock, Oxfordshire, 1979.
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