This monograph comprises the final publication of a study supported by the British Institute of Persian Studies and undertaken by Seth Priestman and Derek Kennet at the University of Durham. The work presents and analyses an assemblage of just under 17,000 sherds of pottery and associated paper archives resulting from one of the largest and most comprehensive surveys ever undertaken on the historic archaeology of southern Iran. The survey was undertaken by Andrew George Williamson (1945–1975), a doctoral student at Oxford University between 1968 and 1971, at a time of great progress and rapid advance in the archaeological exploration of Iran. The monograph provides new archaeological evidence on the long-term development of settlement in Southern Iran, in particular the coastal region, from the Sasanian period to around the 17th century. The work provides new insights into regional settlement patterns and changing ceramic distribution, trade and use. A large amount of primary data is presented covering an extensive area from Minab to Bushehr along the coast and inland as far as Sirjan. This includes information on a number of previously undocumented archaeological sites, as well as a detailed description and analysis of the ceramic finds, which underpin the settlement evidence and provide a wider source of reference. By collecting carefully controlled archaeological evidence related to the size, distribution and period of occupation of urban and rural settlements distributed across southern Iran, Williamson aimed to reconstruct the broader historical development of the region. Due to his early death the work was never completed. The key aims of the authors of this volume were to do justice to Williamson’s remarkable vision and efforts on the one hand, and at the same time to bring this important new evidence to ongoing discussions about the development of southern Iran through the Sasanian and Islamic periods.

The Archaeological Atlas of Samarra sets out to map and catalogue the site and buildings of the Abbasid capital at Samarra in the period 836 to 892 AD, preserved as they were until the middle years of the 20th century. Site maps and catalogues are provided of all the approximately 5819 building and site units identified. This is the first time that it has been possible to catalogue nearly all the buildings of one of the world's largest ancient cities, from the caliph palaces to the smallest hovels.

This book reports on excavations at Paithan in India revealed the development of two early Hindu temples from the 4th century to the 9th: the key formative phase of Hinduism. The temples started as small shrines but were elaborated into formal temples. In relation to these changes, the excavations revealed a sequence of palaeobotanical and palaeofaunal evidence that give insight into the economic and social changes that took place at that time.

Proceedings of a Conference held at Durham University, November 3rd and 4th, 2001. Organized by the Centre for Iranian Studies, IMEIS and the Department of Archaeology of Durham University. Papers presented on Current Research in Sasanian Archaeology, Art and History from a Conference held at Durham University, November 3rd and 4th, 2001. Contents: The Functional Layout of the Fire Sanctuary at Takht-i Sulaiman (Dietrich Huff); The Discovery of a Sasanian Period Fire Temple at Bandiyan, Dargaz (Mehdi Rahbar); A Sasanian Site at Barbar, Bahrain (Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis and Sen F. Andersen); Sasanian Coins from aeUman and Bairayn (Derek Kennet); Suburb or slum? Excavations at Merv (Turkmenistan) and Observations on Stratigraphy, Refuse and Material Culture in a Sasanian City (St John Simpson); The Destruction of the Late Antique World Order (James Howard-Johnston); Bishops or Bureaucrats?: Christian Clergy and the State in the Middle Sasanian Period (Scott McDonough); History and Historiography: the Court Genre in Arabic and the Fatinamah-i Sind (Valeria Fiorani Piacentini); Iranian Society in the Sasanian Period (Hassan Karimian); The Great Families in the Sasanian Empire: some Sigillographic Evidence (Rika Gyselen); aeDionysiacAe Iconographic Themes in the Context of Sasanian Religious Architecture (Pierfrancesco Callieri); A Metamorphosis in Sasanian Silverwork: the Triumph of Dionysos? (Mehdi Moussavi Kouhpar and Timothy Taylor); Royal and Religious Symbols on Early Sasanian Coins (Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis); New Perspectives on Sasanian Rock Reliefs (Hubertus von Gall).

This study describes and illustrates, with plans, drawings and photographs, 75 of the defensive towers in the Emirate of Ras al-Khaimah, which occupies the western side of the Musandam peninsula at the entrance to the Arabian Gulf. The material comes from a survey undertaken between December 1991 and January 1992, and includes an introduction discussing geography, history, typology and distribution, and construction techniques and features.