Tepe Hissar

36°09′16″N 54°23′06″E / 36.1545°N 54.3850°E / 36.1545; 54.3850

Tepe Hissar
Location in Iran
Location in Iran
Location in Iran
Alternative nameTappeh Hesār
History
PeriodsChalcolithic and Bronze Age
Statuette from Tepe Hissar, Layer III, Alabaster, 2300-1900 b.C.
Ancient pottery from Tepe Hissar Layer III, 2300-1900 b.C.

Tepe Hissar (also spelled Tappeh Hesār) is a prehistoric site located in the village Heydarabad just south of Damghan in Semnan Province in northeastern Iran.

The site is notable for its uninterrupted occupational history from the 5th to the 2nd millennium BCE. The quantity and elaborateness of its excavated artifacts and funerary customs position the site prominently as a cultural bridge between Mesopotamia and Central Asia.

Expeditions in 1931-32 by the University of Pennsylvania and 1956 by the University of Tokyo revealed that the site was inhabited from 3900 to 1900 BC. Evidence was uncovered of pottery-making and metallurgy. A large Sasanian Empire palace was also uncovered.[1]

  1. ^ "Tappa Ḥiṣār | archaeological site, Iran". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2020-05-18.