A Classification and Typology Based on a Sample of Iron III Ceramics from Tepe Jelo Asiab, Bijar, Iran

Tepe Jelo Asiab was excavated as part of the Talvar Dam salvage project in 2009. The main objectives of the present study included the classification and typology of the Iron III pottery from the site, and establishing whether there was a continuity or break between the Iron III cultures of the Central Zagros and other concurrent pottery horizons across Iran. The established pottery classification provided the required basis for a relative chronology. The results indicated that the analyzed sample, while displaying certain local and indigenous characteristics, was strongly inspired by the general Iron III tradition that characterized almost all the contemporaneous assemblages across Iran. Given the utilitarian nature of the considered pieces and the low percentage of storage vessels as well as the exposed architecture, Jelo Asiab gives the impression of a summer base camp that provided shelter for local nomads not only during the Iron III but also in the later periods.