3,000-year-old burial of elite teen found in Iran

The tomb of young Bronze Age woman buried with opulent grave goods including a cosmetics box decorated with snakes and scorpions has been unearthed at the Tepe Chalow archaeological site in northeast Iran. It is one of the richest graves from the Great Khorasan Civilization ever discovered.

The Tepe Chalow site, which at the time of the burial was part of the Greater Khorasan Civilization, was first excavated in 2011. Since that time, 48 graves under low burial mounds have been uncovered. Most of the graves date to the Greater Khorasan era, but a handful of them pre-date it, going back to the earliest days of the settlement in the 4th millennium B.C.

The young woman’s grave was discovered in 2013, but has only now been published. Osteological examination found that she was about 18 years old when she died. She buried in a crouched position on her right side facing the southeast. This was the typical position found in the Tepe Charlow burials, but the contents of her grave were entirely atypical. Hers was the only one of the burials at the site to be furnished with lavish grave goods.

A total of 34 objects were buried with her. Twelve of them were characteristic Greater Khorasan Civilization pottery vases. Seven were stone objects made of chlorite, lapis lazuli, serpentine and limestone. There were 13 metal objects, including one gold finger ring, two gold earrings, a pair of bronze bracelets, a bronze mirror, copper/bronze pins and copper/bronze stamp seals. In addition to the metal pins were two ivory ones. Pottery vessels were placed above the head and below the feet of the deceased. Two pins were found near her shoulders, the two bracelets on her arms, and a number of stone and metal artifacts near her face. At her feet was a large vessel that contained a small bronze jar.

The artifacts are exquisitely crafted. One of the pins of them shaped like a hand holding a 10-petaled rosette between the thumb and forefinger. One of the stamp seals was engraved with a depiction of human feet. The most exceptional piece was a small rectangular box made of a polished black chlorite. The long sides of the box were engraved with snakes, mouths wide open showing their threatening fangs and forked tongues. One of the short sides features a scorpion

The stamp seals were used as signatures for transactions, so they are indicators of ownership and active participation in trade. The presence of ivory and lapis lazuli, imported from Afghanistan and the Indus Valley, are evidence of her wealth.

The woman buried in Grave 12 was an important person but was too young when she died to have achieved such status herself, Vahdati said. Instead, it’s likely she inherited her social status and wealth from her family, either by birth or through marriage.

“The presence of such wealth in the grave of an adolescent remains unique within the Greater Khorasan Civilization archaeological record,” Vahdati said. “At this stage we can only speak of elite status passed down through lineage, which is consistent with the hierarchical nature of GKC society.”

* This article was originally published here