Architectural innovation and experimentation at Ganj Dareh, Iran

Abstract

Ganj Dareh is an early neolithic mound site in the central Zagros mountains of western Iran in which the mud‐based architecture is unusually well preserved. Level D, which was burnt, has clustered two‐story structures with many small cubicles. It reveals several methods of brick making and wall construction, as well as unusual mortice‐and‐tenon devices, ‘storage bins’ made of prefabricated clay slabs, and many ‘portholes’ and ‘plugs’ in the walls. Level D and later levels may represent an ephemeral stage of architectural experimentation in the Zagros at a time when there was still no strong commitment to food production. It suggests the early Zagros architecture was more complex and innovative than is usually thought.

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