BARD-e BAL, a necropolis excavated in 1969-70 by the Belgian archeological mission in Iran, along the banks of the Garāb river one km northwest of the ruined village of Čenārbāšī, and 54 km southeast of Īlām, province of Pošt-e Kūh. Seventy tombs, dating from the end of Iron Age I and Iron Age II, were found on the site. These were generally cist tombs which were sometimes fitted with large stone-slab doors. Despite their small size, they were mostly not individual tombs; graves of Iron Age I were often reused in Iron Age II. The pottery is an unpainted buff ware, occasionally with incised decoration and applied buttons. In Iron Age I almost all metal objects are made of bronze; in Iron Age II we find that weapons are still made of bronze whereas personal ornaments are made of iron. The Bard-e Bal necropolis is important because it provides an archeological context by which to approximate the date (12th-10th centuries b.c.) of the typical Luristan bronzes, such as spike-butted axes, whetstone handles in the form of crouched caprids, and finials with upright standing ibexes, that were discovered there.
Bibliography:
L. Vanden Berghe, “La nécropole de Bard-i Bal au Luristan,” Archeologia 43, 1971, pp. 14-23.
Idem, “Excavations in Pusht-i Kuh. Tombs Provide Evidence on Dating Typical Luristan Bronzes,” Archaeology 24, 1971, pp. 263-71 (especially pp. 268-71, figs. 12-20).
Idem, “Recherches archéologiques dans le Luristan, sixième campagne 1970: Fouilles à Bard-i Bal et Pay-i Kal,” Iranica Antiqua 10, 1973, pp. 1-55.
Search terms:
| برد بل | bard e bal |
(L. Vanden Berghe)
Originally Published: December 15, 1988
Last Updated: December 15, 1988
This article is available in print.
Vol. III, Fasc. 7, p. 761
