A Clay Bullae and Five Tablets From Tepe Sofalin, Rey Plain, Iran

This article introduces six examples out of a larger corpus of evidence for early administration and writing that has been recovered from the site of Tepe Sofalin, which lies on the Rey Plain of the north-central Iranian Plateau. These documents illustrate the transition from tokens and Bullae to numero-ideographic and ultimately early Proto Elamite tablets. The form and content of the corpus of evidence material that has so far been excavated at Tepe Sofalin is entirely consistent with that of late Uruk related/Susa II and early Proto Elamite administrative documents and tablets that have been found in different parts of Iran and are known to date from c. ۳۵۰۰ to ۳۰۰۰ B.C. Here, the site of Tepe Sofalin is introduced, one Bullae, four numerical tablets, and one early Proto-Elamite tablet are described, the chronology of the site is discussed and the broader import of these findings is outlined.

Keywords:

numerical tablet , early writing , ancient iran , Tepe Sofalin , Proto-Urbanization