Hasanlu is quite an impressive ruin, the largest tepe in the Qadar River valley (37°00'N 45°35'E). The site consists of a High Mound, approximately 25 meters in height and 3.14 HA in area, surrounded by a Low Mound 8 m in height and covering at least 33 HA. The exact extent of the Low Mound has been obscured by modern agricultural activity and the villages of Hasanlu and Aminlu located on the eastern and southern Low Mound respectively. The ruin mounds of Hasanlu were formed through deposits of stone, earth, and debris left from the repeated construction and destruction of stone and mudbrick architecture and the accumulation of occupational debris. The excavators of Hasanlu and sites in the surrounding region distinguished 10 chronological periods based on archaeological remains, primarily changes in ceramics. The Hasanlu Sequence became one of the main chronological periodizations for northwestern Iran. It spans the Pottery Neolithic to the Iron Age, although it contains many gaps and has since been divided into subperiods and phases based on further analysis of the stratigraphy, architecture, and artifactual remains. Hasanlu periods are designated by roman numerals. During the early years of excavation, Dyson referred to the various periods with provisional popular names, such as the ‘Button Base Period’ rather than a sequential scheme since knowledge of the site’s stratigraphy was incomplete and the archaeological chronology of northwestern Iran was in its infancy.
Hasanlu Period |
Iranian Periodization |
Dyson’s Initial Phases |
Cultural Designation/Horizon |
Notes |
I |
Medieval |
Islamic Phase |
Ilkhanid |
|
|
-- Hiatus -- |
|
|
|
II |
Iron IV |
Mystery Phase |
Seleucid |
Badly eroded in most locations |
IIIa |
Iron IV |
Triangle Ware Phase |
Achaemenid |
Badly eroded in most locations |
|
--Hiatus -- |
|
|
|
IIIb |
Iron III |
Triangle Ware Phase |
Urartian |
At lease two phases |
|
--Hiatus -- |
|
|
|
IVa |
Iron II |
‘Squatter Occupation’ |
|
Comprised of traces of post-destruction use of the site |
IVb |
Iron II |
Grey Ware Phase |
Late Western Grey Ware |
The Burned City |
IVc |
Iron II |
Grey Ware Phase |
Late Western Grey Ware |
This subperiod refers to early architectural phases found in the standing architecture of Period IVb |
Va |
Late Iron I |
Button-Base Phase |
Early Western Grey Ware |
Five exposures on the High Mound |
Vb |
Early Iron I |
|
Early Western Grey Ware |
Not previously reported |
VIa |
Late Bronze Age |
|
Dinkha Polychrome |
Not attested at Hasanlu Tepe |
VIb |
Middle Bronze Age |
Dinkha Ware |
Painted Khabur Ware |
|
VIc |
Middle Bronze Age |
|
Unpainted Khabur Ware |
Not previously reported |
VIIa |
Early Bronze Age |
Orange Ware |
Late Orange Ware |
Not previously reported |
VIIb |
Early Bronze Age |
Orange Ware |
Early Orange Ware |
The earliest material reached on the Low Mound, directly on sterile soil. |
VIIc |
Late Chalcolithic/ Early Bronze Age |
|
Streaky Ware and Early Transcaucasian |
The earliest strata reached in controlled excavations in the U22 Sounding |
VIII |
Late Chalcolithic |
Pisdeli |
Pisdeli |
Not reached in controlled excavations at Hasanlu, but present in the Well Sounding |
IX |
Chalcolithic |
Dalma |
Dalma |
Not attested in primary contexts at Hasanlu Tepe |
X |
Pottery Neolithic |
Hajji Firuz |
Hajji Firuz |
Not attested in primary contexts at Hasanlu Tepe |
