TEHRAN—The ancient site of Bakheh Nam in southern part of Ilam plain pertains to the Bronze to Iron Age settlements given the surface evidence, Habibollah Mahmoudian, a specialist in prehistoric archaeology, has said.

He told ISNA that the ancient hill is located between the city of Ilam and the village of Chalsara and covers an area of about five hectares.

The length of this area is about 500 meters and its width is nearly 100 meters, and at its highest point, it has a relative height of about four meters, he added.

Mahmoudian explained that this ancient site includes a relatively large area without construction, which due to the lack of immovable artifacts on its surface, cultural materials such as pottery are found in abundance. This site was most likely a type of permanent settlement along the river and was connected to Tapeh Mil (Mil Hill) located to the south of it, due to the close distance, he added.

However, new constructions have separated these two sites from each other, he said, adding that a series of kiln welds were observed on the surface of the hill, the abundance of which indicates the presence of pottery kilns in this area, he said. Most of the pottery obtained from this ancient site had red, well-formed, and sufficiently baked pastes, and were collected for study, he added.

He explained that the pottery of this site is wheel-made and comes in two types: plain and patterned, with patterns including horizontal and wavy stripes around the waist with tight rope and finger decorations. 

Mahmoudian continued that clay coating, outward-turned edge shape, and smooth edges, are other cultural characteristics of this site. 

There are also a number of potteries with red pastes that have a blue and turquoise green glaze in a single color and are not strong enough, he said. These potteries have a flat body and bottom, and along with them, samples with a turquoise green glaze and black underglaze painting have also been found, he added.

The archaeologist added that among the findings, a small piece of a pottery vessel was also seen, which was green in color and glazed on a slip and under a transparent coating, but it has been completely destroyed. The pattern of this pottery piece is in form of Kufic script inside the vessel, but due to erosion, it has remained unclear, he pointed out.

Mahmoudian pointed to the weeping and laughing water mills on the banks a river in Ilam. 

He added that from the valleys to the village of Mehdi Abad, traces of mills can be seen, some archaeologists have mentioned their number as many as seventeen.

The archaeologist added that initial studies show that numerous traces of such structures have remained in the Ilam province from the past, but they have not been seriously explored so far.

He pointed to other historical mills in the province and said that Qobad, Kazem Beg, and Tanooreh Khan mills are among the mills that are included in the list of industrial and historical heritage of Ilam and require more attention and protection.

KD