An Imperial Frontier of the Sasanian Empire
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Edinburgh Research Explorer An Imperial Frontier of the Sasanian Empire: further fieldwork at the Great Wall of Gorgan Citation for published version: Sauer, E, Omrani Rekavadi, H, Wilkinson, T, Safari Tamak, E, Ainslie, R, Mahmoudi, M, Griffiths, S, Ershadi, M, Jansen Van Rensburg, J, Fattahi, M, Ratcliffe, J, Nokandeh, J, Nazifi, A, Thomas, R, Gale, R & Hoffmann, B 2007, 'An Imperial Frontier of the Sasanian Empire: further fieldwork at the Great Wall of Gorgan', Journal of the British Institute of Persian Studies, vol. 45, pp. 95-136. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/2565141> Link: Link to publication record in Edinburgh Research Explorer Document Version: Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Published In: Journal of the British Institute of Persian Studies Publisher Rights Statement: © Sauer, E., Omrani Rekavadi, H., Wilkinson, T., Safari Tamak, E., Ainslie, R., Mahmoudi, M., Griffiths, S., Ershadi, M., Jansen Van Rensburg, J., Fattahi, M., Ratcliffe, J., Nokandeh, J., Nazifi, A., Thomas, R., Gale, R., & Hoffmann, B. (2007). An Imperial Frontier of the Sasanian Empire: further fieldwork at the Great Wall of Gorgan. Iran : Journal of the British Institute of Persian Studies., 45, 95-136 General rights Copyright for the publications made accessible via the Edinburgh Research Explorer is retained by the author(s) and / or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing these publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. Take down policy The University of Edinburgh has made every reasonable effort to ensure that Edinburgh Research Explorer content complies with UK legislation. If you believe that the public display of this file breaches copyright please contact [email protected] providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 04. Oct. 2021 British Institute of Persian Studies AN IMPERIAL FRONTIER OF THE SASANIAN EMPIRE: FURTHER FIELDWORK AT THE GREAT WALL OF GORGAN Author(s): Hamid Omrani Rekavandi, Eberhard W. Sauer, Tony Wilkinson, Esmail Safari Tamak, Roger Ainslie, Majid Mahmoudi, Seren Griffiths, Mohammad Ershadi, Julian Jansen Van Rensburg, Morteza Fattahi, James Ratcliffe, Jebrael Nokandeh, Amin Nazifi, Richard Thomas, Rowena Gale and Birgitta Hoffmann Source: Iran, Vol. 45 (2007), pp. 95-136 Published by: British Institute of Persian Studies Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25651414 . Accessed: 16/12/2013 07:29 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. British Institute of Persian Studies is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Iran. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 129.215.19.197 on Mon, 16 Dec 2013 07:29:47 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions AN IMPERIAL FRONTIER OF THE SASANIAN EMPIRE: FURTHER FIELDWORK AT THE GREAT WALL OF GORGAN By Hamid Omrani Rekavandi (HO), EberhardW. Sauer (EWS), TonyWilkinson (TW), Esmail Safari Tamak (EST), Roger Ainslie (RA), Majid Mahmoudi (MM), Seren Griffiths(SG), Mohammad Ershadi (ME), Julian JansenVan Rensburg (JJ), Morteza Fattahi (MF), JamesRatcliffe (JR), JebraelNokandeh (JN),Amin Nazifi (AN), Richard Thomas (RT), Rowena Gale (RG) and BirgittaHoffmann (BH) Abstract The 2006 season has yielded significantnew insightsinto the Great Wall ofGorgan's relationto landscape features and settlement,notably thedivision of theassociated complexwater supply system into sectors.The westernmost part of thewall is buried deeply beneath sedimentsfrom a past transgressionof theCaspian Sea. An unexpectedly high numberof brickkilns, of standardiseddesign, shed lighton themanner of thewall's construction.Geophysical survey,satellite images and excavations have established that some or all of the associated fortswere densely occupied with buildings, thoughtto be barracks, suggestinga strongmilitary garrison. Keywords Forts; landscapeArchaeology; linearbarriers; Sasanians; water supply. I. INTRODUCTION II.THE GORGANWALL IN ITS LANDSCAPE (HO, EWS, TW & EST) (TW&HO) The second season of the joint project, between the One of the more significant results of the 2005 field Iranian Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organisation season was that a system of water supply had been (ICHTO) and the Universities of Edinburgh and incorporated into aspects of the wall design and con Durham, to explore the linear barriers of northern Iran, struction. Consequently, one of the main aims of the near modern Gorgan and Gonbad-e Kavus, took place 2006 field work by T.J. Wilkinson and H. Omrani in September 2006. Our aims included obtaining Rekavandi was to find out more about related hydraulic further dating evidence for the construction of theGreat installations as well as to understand how the Gorgan Wall of Gorgan and the duration of occupation of the Wall related to both the natural and cultural landscapes associated forts.We equally hoped to gain further of the region. These studies,which elaborate on the con insights into the extent, purpose and design of the siderable amount of earlier work by Jebrael Nokandeh associated water supply system, the organisation of and Hamid Omrani Rekavandi, covered most of the brick for the as as production wall, well the location of length of thewall from near Fort 2 in the east, to beyond the wall's terminals in the west and east. The 2005 Fort 33 near theCaspian Sea in thewest. season had yielded little tangible evidence for the nature of the occupation of the forts, and the size of their garrisons and substantial furtherprogress here in III.WATER SUPPLY 2006 was a major desideratum. Unlike 2005, all our (TW&HO) efforts in the short 2006 season were concentrated on theGreat Wall of and we carried out no Gorgan further The 2005 field season had recorded threemajor canals work on theWall of Tammishe. that led water from theGorgan River, and in 2006 two This content downloaded from 129.215.19.197 on Mon, 16 Dec 2013 07:29:47 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 96 JOURNAL OF PERSIAN STUDIES 20 io is17 ]U}-<^y jV4 Gunbadr?\ ym\ \ \ ^6^\_A^ i-Qabus\ 2^^X^^^^ - 23/ \ / \ GorganWall ""1 \ CASPIAN\ ?^ * 3"v>^--^__^2^ 26 - , ^ V ?f \ Gumishan j ^Gumishan -\ N "^"^^^^ / -^^TammisheWail : J Morgan 0_^ , ^W^S ' - -~L-JS*? - ^TammisheWall_J_I Fig. I. The Gorgan Wall. Suggested sectors of the wall are as follows: east, from Fort 1-2; east central, from Fort 2-4; main, from Fort 5 west. TheDigje canal is betweenForts 16 and 17, and a possible canal is located byFort 4. more were noted, to make a total of five cross (or previously discovered by Hamid Omrani and his team). as was feeder) canals which apparently conducted water from This feature, referred to the Digje canal, the Gorgan River to the ditch on the north side of the confirmed and mapped between Forts 16 and 17. This c. m. a Gorgan Wall (Fig. 1). The western-most feeder canal 12 wide canal forms well-defined channel that now a arm was recorded during the 2006 field season (having been led water fromwhat is relict of theGorgan 2.Area the , Fig. ofembanking along /;^ -v^?^^BSH^^^^^^^^^^^HHB ^?"^1^%^^ wall tothe (thealigment parallel top \ j m;^^^^M^h||^^^^^^^^^^BH|K, ^jT ^',>^R:*K*^ withFort the .% f border) 15, rectangular i ^^^^H^^^^^^^^^^^^^lH^^^^ '':*< ' f< ^ * '' enclosurenear the left margin, *i" , ? , V^^S^^I^^^^^^^hRw^^ % . abuttingthe wall. Four parallel 4'>A] J'^-mWI^^^^^^^^^BhR^F ' ?- If are w //ze at # ^ stripes interior, lllio '^BoH^^^^^Eff \ to *7zevva/7. CORONA - ^ ' ' ng/rt0?g/es sB*iRHl^^^^B^ 3 imagebycourtesy ofUS Geological ^ ?^Jrmwjt vi^R^^^^E^^^' ,|? > Survey,with permission. ^^m^l^J^W^tSKBL l^'^JML ?g W^K^f^W V* This content downloaded from 129.215.19.197 on Mon, 16 Dec 2013 07:29:47 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions FURTHER FIELDWORK AT THE GREAT WALL OF GORGAN 97 River, which has shifted its course about 1 km. to the may have been associated with flowing water. This bank on south, to theGorgan Wall ditch to the north. There was follows the line of thewall and ditch, and is visible no evidence of an earthen dam associated with this Corona images as a broad pale soil feature (Fig. 2), and canal, presumably because, like most of the others, it on themap of Kiani as a faint feature along the south had been removed by the dynamic and erosive Gorgan side of thewall (Kiani 1982: fig. 3). It thereforeappears River. that to the east of Fort 15, thewall gives way to a silt Less certain is a channel-like feature immediately bank thatmaintains the gradient of the terrainfrom east west of Fort 4 (Figs 11, 24). This feature joins thewell to west where a shallow valley would otherwise have defined ditch west of Fort 4, and appears to have required thewall to have followed down into the valley gathered itswater from theGorgan River c. 1.5 km. to and up the other side. Although these gradients are very the south. Unfortunately, the junction of this putative subtle, this highlights how theGorgan Wall differs from feeder canal with the river has been expunged by a many other frontierwalls: it does not follow the rises massive gully system which has subsequently eroded and falls of the terrain, but rather, in themanner of a back along the canal course south of Fort 4. canal, it attempts tomaintain a very gentle gradient (i.e. Other possible feeder canals were observed a hydraulic grade), in this case from east to west.