A Survey and Typological analysis of pottery in the Andajin site of The Hamedan plain in Seljuk and Ilkhanid periods

Survey and Typological analysis of pottery in the Andajin site of The Hamedan plain in Seljuk and Ilkhanid periods
 
Introduction: Hamedan is located in the western region of Iran, near the Central Zagros. The Central Zagros region has long been a region on the natural route from Baghdad to Hamedan, with a strategic position. This region connected the central and eastern plateau of Iran with the west and Mesopotamia. The existence of main routes, such as the Greater Khorasan Highway has caused this region to be affected by the changes and developments of different cultures of population centers. One of these developments can be seen in the creation of various styles of pottery in the Islamic period. Andajin site is located 9 km north of Hamedan city, in the east of Bahar city. In terms of topography and geological features, this area is located in the alluvial, eastern and northern parts of the Alvand mountain valley habitat and in the middle of the vast and fertile plain of Qoroq. According to historical texts and archaeological evidence, Andajin site is one of the leading cultural centers of the Islamic period, the peak of its prosperity is related to the seventh and eighth centuries AH. This place has been considered as a town. Existence of abundant water resources and alluvial and fertile soil in the region has played a significant role in the formation and prosperity of this Islamic site. Surface studies on the pottery of the Islamic period of Andajin site show that in this region, various known pottery styles have been prevalent in different regions of Iran. Based on the data obtained from the study of this area, it seems that except for the first few centuries, which requires archaeological excavations, no information is available about the pottery culture of this period. In other words, the lack of detailed studies on the pottery of early Islam, as well as the technical and artistic similarity of this group of works with late examples of the historical period, has made it difficult to study it carefully. Here, the main information according to the abundance of data is related to the fifth to the eighth century AH, which includes simple unglazed and glazed pottery, including molded, engraved, augmented pottery, Esgrafiato, Sultanabad style pottery, black pen under turquoise glaze, Multicolored designs on white glaze, Silhouette and blue and white of the patriarchal period. The Survey and analysis of various types of pottery index during the fifth to eighth centuries AH and also the identification of local samples is one of the objectives of this Research. The most important questions that need to be answered in the research process are: 1- In terms of construction style and decoration, the effects of which areas can be seen in the pottery of Andajin site? 2- What are the most important types of pottery in Andajin Islamic site in Seljuk and Ilkhanid periods? And which type of pottery has native characteristics?
 
Materials & Method:
In the present article, the data are collected by documentary and field methods and the research approach is "descriptive-analytical". In the documentary method, information related to previous archaeological research, natural geography of the region and comparative studies of pottery for chronology were collected. In documenting the site, a systematic archaeological survey (regular networking method) has been done with a new approach and using application software such as GPS, Google Earth, Map Source. Then, the pottery pieces were studied by "sampling" method as "simple random" and based on "qualitative characteristics". Finally, after the archaeological survey of the site, the pottery of the Islamic period of Andajin area was classified and in order to chronologically compare them, the pottery studies of other sites of the Islamic period were also considered.
Archaeological studies by faculty members of Bu Ali Sina University in the region during the years 2006 to 2012 have referred to the pottery data of the Islamic period of this region and its flagship hills, including Qoroq (Mohammadifar and Motarjem, 2006; Translator and Belmaki, 2009; Nazari Arshad, 2012). "Survey and analysis of the typology of pottery from the beginning of the Islamic period to the end of the Safavid period in Hamadan"; (Zarei and Shabani, 2019) is another research that has studied the totality of Islamic pottery in Hamedan province, including the Qoroq site, which has been obtained through excavations and studies.
 
Results:
During the Islamic period, Andajin area has been of special importance for being located in the alluvial part of the Alvand mountain valley habitat with its favorable geographical location and biological potentials, as well as its location on the east-west communication road such as Greater Khorasan Road. According to the study of architectural and pottery works left from this area and the abundance obtained from them - as one of the cultural centers with valuable archaeological data - the peak of its splendor belongs to the seventh and eighth centuries AH. Considering that no evidence of pottery kilns and other evidence of pottery production has been found in and around this area; Probably came from workshops in other areas. Due to the great variety of pottery species in terms of shape, it mostly includes a variety of bowls and plates. In terms of technique and decoration, it includes index species without glaze with carved, added and molded patterns, and glazed species such as plain and patterned monochromatic glazed utensils (monochromatic utensils with molded, embossed and added embossed patterns), black pen, Sultanabad type pottery, Blue-white, shadows, pottery engraved on the rose, azure glazed dishes on their gold and pottery pieces with multicolored patterns on the white rose.
Conclusion: According to the results, Similar to the studied samples based on shape, construction technique, payment and design in other pottery centers inside and outside the regions of the fifth to eighth centuries AH, especially the neighboring areas that are on the communication and commercial routes of Hamedan in the eastern direction (Zolfabad, Aveh Saveh , Tahiq, Rey), western (Qorveh, Kangavar and Biston), northern (Soltanieh, Aq Kand and Takht-e Soleiman) and southern (Nahavand and Boroujerd) have been identified and studied, which have not been unrelated to the pottery art of the studied geographical area. Among the prominent and widely used motifs with the same artistic features in the pottery art of this area with neighboring areas, we can mention the circular motifs of circles and fish on the surface of Sultanabad pottery edges and parallel cobalt blue stripes in blue-white pottery. This similarity indicates the construction of pottery species in specific centers and its export to other areas, including this area, and probably indicates the extensive cultural relations of population centers in the study period. It seems that in the Seljuk and Ilkhanid periods, trade and pilgrimage routes that entered the plain of Hamedan from the east, central plateau, west and northwest were the main factors influencing the pottery art of this region from neighboring areas. In the meantime, the multicolored species on white rose similar to enamel dishes with a relatively high frequency - with low quality of construction and payment - is one of the local dishes in the western regions of Iran in the seventh and eighth centuries AH. This group of pottery, according to the samples obtained from the Iranian plateau, has been obtained only in a small number of western areas of Iran with a large volume and similar construction and polishing techniques.
 
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