Archaeological Field Studies at Manojan, Kerman

Kerman Province is one of the important Provinces in terms of richness of antiquities from the prehistoric to late Islamic period, it’s environmental setting, geographical location, mines and natural resources have given special importance to this region during long time. The study area is Manojan city, which is located in Kerman Province, about 80 kmnortheast of the Strait of Hormuz. Due to its sustainable water resources such as the Jaghin River (Minab) and its connection to port centers in the Makran Sea and the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, the Manojan region is a strategic region for the emergence of the ancient sites from prehistoric to the Islamic period. The first archaeologicalfieldwork in Manojan was conducted by Ali Akbar Sarfaraz in 1965. He has provided a detailed description of the historical castle of Manojan., after this brief fieldwork, no other activities took place in the region until 2009. During this year, an archeological survey and identification program was conducted in an area of about 4500 sq.-km under thesupervision of Mahboubeh Naseri Tehrani, the results were of so important archaeologically. Archaeological evidence suggests that there was a nomadic way of life in the area, although in modern times it is possible to understand this way of life in the area with an ethnographic perspective. In this fieldwork, a total of 145 sites with different functions were identified, including 5 Bronze Age sites, 77 historical period cemeteries dated between the Achaemenid and Sassanid periods, and 57 Islamic monuments, including castles, sites, watermills, Islamic cemeteries, dams, and stone bridges. In addition, pictographs from the historical and Islamic periods have been identified in 6 places. Evidence of ancientarchitecture in the region includes materials from stone, wood and plant fibers, which can also be seen in the modern architecture of the region.

Keywords:

Kerman , Manojan , Survey , Ethno-archaeology , Historical Cemetery