Bowl depicting scorpions. Excavated at Halilrud area. 3rd Millennium BCE
Jiroft civilization
The Jiroft Civilization (Persian تمدن جيرفت) is a proposed Early Bronze Age civilization of Sistan, Iran (fl. ca. 26th century BC). It was proposed by Yousef Madjidzadeh in 2003 based on archaeological artefacts confiscated by Iranian authorities. White Muscarella (2005) expresses serious doubt in the validity of the "Jiroft Civilization" as an archaeological entity. The Jiroft site itself is of undisputed notability as a mid-3rd millennium city situated between the Elamite civilization to the west and the Indus Valley civilization to the east.
Research into this civilization is a relatively recent and ongoing multinational archaeological project that is uncovering a previously unknown "civilization" in a series of newly discovered sites in Iran's Sistan and Kerman Provinces, notably Konar Sandal near Jiroft in the Halil Rud area. At least twelve sites are now under excavation in the area, the oldest thought to be more than 5,000 years old.
The most significant of these sites are Shahr-i Sokhta (Burnt City), Tepe Bampur, Espiedej, Shahdad, Iblis, and Tepe Yahya. Some are in the neighboring Sistan and Baluchistan province.
The recent accidental discoveries have led to a surge in illegal excavations and looting, mainly of ancient tombs. The number of smuggled artifacts discovered became so noticeable that police forces had to be dispatched to try stop the looting. Interpol has also been cooperating on stopping the trade sourcing from the area.
The recent findings that have uncovered an "independent, Bronze Age, civilization with its own architecture and language" have led professor Yousef Majidzadeh, head of the archaeological excavation team in Jiroft, to speculate them to be the remains of the lost Aratta Kingdom, though others disagree. Other conjectures (eg. Daniel T. Potts, Piotr Steinkeller) have connected the site with the obscure city-state of Marhashi, that apparently lay to the east of Elam proper. But what is certain is that this kingdom had a large pottery industry, was a transit hub for trade merchants, and had active interactions with the Elamites.
