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The Public Relations Office of the Research Institute of Cultural Heritage and Tourism (RICHT) quoted Yadollah Heidari Baba Kamal, head of the probing operations for determining the limits and privacy of the ancient Gazak Rayen in Kerman Province as saying that studies of the area and cities of the early Islamic period can play an important role in identifying how the settlements are made and how they interact with each other in the first centuries of Islam and the Sassanid era.
He noted that Gazak ancient site is one of those areas where through archeological explorations many ambiguities could be answered about early Islamic sites in the southeastern region.
Referring to the documents, he said the historic site belonged to the late Sassanid and early period of Islam up to the Seljuk era, and said with regard to the prosperity of Kerman-Baluchistan and Kerman-Hormuz communication routes during the Seljuk and Qarakhātyans periods, possibly one of the peak periods of the area had been during this period.
He went on to say that the presence of the pottery data and scattered architecture on the surface of the area indicate that the site belongs to the culture of the Sassanid period, early centuries of Islam up to the middle centuries.
Presence of the fertile plain wherein the Rayen area is located, points to the settlement in that enclosure, adding that the high potentials of the area together with the suitable climate and enough water led to the settlement there in the historic period up to the middle Islamic era, he added.
Heidari also referred to the warm water springs in the area and said presence of a place like a water pool for collecting water behind it has led to the optimal use of water for agriculture and its better transfer.
However, he attributed the significance of the area more to its location on the communication paths and said location of Kerman in one of the communication crossroads (north to south and east and west) has resulted in turning the area into one of the political, commercial and military centers in southeast Iran.
He pointed to the cultural materials such as different pieces of pottery which were discovered in 13 probing operations out of 25 saying the operations have played significance role in determining the limits and privacy of the site.
Heidari said that the potteries, in beige and brick red color and glazed with engrave patterns, were the common technique in the early and middle centuries in Iran, including Kerman.
The archeologist said unlike the pottery discovered during the probing operations architectural remains are negligible and due to the plowing of the agricultural land and their leveling, no traces of intact architectural remains are visible.
Due to the dispersion of pottery pieces dating back to the late Sassanid to early Islam and the Seljuk periods on the surface of the site, the sequence of the historic periods is evident on its surface therefore determining the limits and conducting probing operations seem quite necessary, he reiterated.
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