Qalaichi

Qalaichi
Qalaichi
سه گردان، قلایچی ، قلایه چی Ghalay-chi
	Glazed tile excavated by B. Kargar from Qalaichi in the Urmia Museum. Depicted is a winged sphinx.
	Location within Iran
	36°34′13″N 46°16′31″E / 36.57028°N 46.27528°E
Type	settlement
Periods	Mannean
Cultures	Iron Age II and III
Associated with	0
Location	Bukan, Iran
Region	West Azerbaijan province
History
Built	9th-7th century BCE
Abandoned	?
Site notes
Material	stone, mud brick, baked brick
Height	1,507 m (4,944 ft)
Length	93 m (305 ft)
Width	102 m (335 ft)
Excavation dates	1985, 1999-2006
Archaeologists	E. Yaghmaei, B.Kargar
Condition	plundered, later excavated
Owner	public
Public access	accessible

Qalaichi, Ghalay-chi, قلایچی in Persian (UTM 38S 615552 m E 4046795 m N) is an important archaeological site for the Iron Age of north-western Iran. It is a mound 11 metres (36 ft) high, situated about 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) north-west of Bukan City in West Azerbaijan Province 18 kilometres (11 mi) away from the border of Kurdistan province. The site is located near a village from whence it got its name. Hills and mountains surround it; the highest one in the east is the so-called Kal-Tage.

Modern Qalaichi may have been Zirta/Izirta, the capital of the Mannaean Kingdom.^[1]^: 106 The main period of occupation extended from the 9th to 7th centuries BCE.

Discoveries

Key archaeological finds include a stele inscribed with an Aramaic text.^[2] The stele is dated to around 700 BCE.^[1]^: 106 It is a fragment consisting of "most likely either a dedicatory or memorial inscription set up by the local ruler."^[1]^: 105 The use of Aramaic, the lingua franca of the neighboring Assyrian Empire, suggests that Aramaic was prestigious among Mannaean elites around the time the stele was erected, but does not necessarily indicate wider adoption of Aramaic in Mannaea.^[3]^: 118 The surviving fragment fails to record any personal names, but does record the names of the Urartian god Ḫaldi and the god Hadad from Ancient Semitic religion, as well as a place name rendered as Ztr.^[3] This place name was suggested by M. A. Lemaire to correspond to Zirta/Izirta.^[1]^: 106

In addition, the ancient settlement yielded a large number of glazed objects. Some of these objects are monochrome and the others show complex compositions.^[4] The excavated artifacts are now in the collections of Urmia Museum and Tehran National Museum.

References

1 2 3 4 Sokoloff, Michael (1999). "The Old Aramaic Inscription from Bukān: A Revised Interpretation". Israel Exploration Journal. 49 (1/2): 105–115. ISSN 0021-2059.
↑ M. A. Lemaire, L'inscription araméenne de Bukân et son intérêt historique, in Comptes rendus des séances de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, Année, vol.142,1998: 293-300; E. Yaghmaei, Discovery of a three thousand years old temple at Bukan, Keyhan Newspaper, Thursday, 11 March 1985, 9 (in Persian).
1 2 Ephʿal, Israel (1999). "The Bukān Aramaic Inscription: Historical Considerations". Israel Exploration Journal. 49 (1/2): 116–121. ISSN 0021-2059.
↑ B. Kargar, Qalaychi/Izirtu: a Mannean center, Period Ib, in M. Azarnoush (ed.), Proceedings of International Symposium on Iranian Archaeology: North-western Region, Tehran, 2004, 229–45(in Persian).

External links

Mannaean glazed bricks from Bukan Archived 2011-06-28 at the Wayback Machine

Mannaean glazed bricks from Bukan Archived 2011-06-28 at the Wayback Machine

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[Sokoloff-1] 1 2 3 4 Sokoloff, Michael (1999). "The Old Aramaic Inscription from Bukān: A Revised Interpretation". Israel Exploration Journal. 49 (1/2): 105–115. ISSN 0021-2059.

[2] M. A. Lemaire, L'inscription araméenne de Bukân et son intérêt historique, in Comptes rendus des séances de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, Année, vol.142,1998: 293-300; E. Yaghmaei, Discovery of a three thousand years old temple at Bukan, Keyhan Newspaper, Thursday, 11 March 1985, 9 (in Persian).

[Eph'al-3] 1 2 Ephʿal, Israel (1999). "The Bukān Aramaic Inscription: Historical Considerations". Israel Exploration Journal. 49 (1/2): 116–121. ISSN 0021-2059.

[4] B. Kargar, Qalaychi/Izirtu: a Mannean center, Period Ib, in M. Azarnoush (ed.), Proceedings of International Symposium on Iranian Archaeology: North-western Region, Tehran, 2004, 229–45(in Persian).

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v t e West Azerbaijan province, Iran
List of cities, towns and villages in West Azerbaijan Province
Capital	Urmia
Counties and cities	Bukan County Bukan Simmineh Chaldoran County Siah Cheshmeh Avajiq Chaypareh County Qarah Zia od Din Khoy County Khoy Firuraq Ivughli Mahabad County Mahabad Maku County Maku Bazargan Miandoab County Miandoab Baruq Chahar Borj Naqadeh County Naqadeh Mohammadyar Oshnavieh County Oshnavieh Nalus Piranshahr County Piranshahr Gerd Kashaneh Poldasht County Poldasht Salmas County Salmas Tazeh Shahr Sardasht County Sardasht Mirabad Rabat Shahin Dezh County Shahin Dezh Keshavarz Mahmudabad Showt County Showt Marganlar Yowla Galdi Takab County Takab Urmia County Urmia Nushin Qushchi Serow Silvaneh
Tourism	Teppe Hasanlu Kelashin Stele Bastam Citadel Takht-e Soleymān Lake Urmia Zarrineh River Shalmash Falls St. Mary Church St. Thaddeus Monastery Chapel of Dzordzor St. George Church Jameh Mosque of Urmia Baghchejogh museum and palace Segonbad Ghoutour Bridge
Places	List of cities, towns and villages in West Azerbaijan Province