Rereading the tombstones of the late centuries of the Islamic period in northern Fars with archaeological studies (Research study: Marvdasht and Bavanat)

Rezaee, Moslem; Malekpour, Najmeh

doi:10.22034/z.a.r.2025.731812

Rereading the tombstones of the late centuries of the Islamic period in northern Fars with archaeological studies (Research study: Marvdasht and Bavanat)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Moslem Rezaee ¹

Najmeh Malekpour ²

¹ PhD in Archaeology, Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Science and Research, Tehran, Iran

² Ph.D. in the history of Iran in the Islamic period, researcher of the Iranology Studies Department, Iranology Foundation, Tehran, Iran

10.22034/z.a.r.2025.731812

Abstract

Tombstones are among the valuable relics that not only contain significant information from the perspective of art and stone carving research; but also, are feedback of cultural, social conditions and ritual beliefs. The tombs of northern Fars are an important part of the untold history of this region. Considering the volume and number of existing tombstones, they are a very valuable source in the field of archaeological studies and local history for the cultural study of northern Fars. The present article aims to present a reinterpretation of the tombstones, symbols, shapes on them and tombstone designs based on written and archaeological evidence of the tombstones and a comparative study with cemeteries in northern Fars, and in order to answer these questions: 1. What characteristics did the tombstones of the late Islamic centuries of northern Fars have and what types of designs and texts did they depict? 2. How can these designs and inscriptions be interpreted in the cultural space of northern Fars and how do they display the cultural and religious characteristics of northern Fars? It is assumed that these tombstones represent the cultural and religious characteristics of their deceased and reveal signs of convergence in the northern Fars region. This research was conducted using a descriptive-analytical method. The findings and its statistical population are four cemeteries of the late Islamic period with tombstones with paintings and inscriptions, which are based on field surveys and documentary studies. The results of the study show that the structure of the tombstones has altar, cradle, coffin and simple frames with human, plant, animal, symbolic motifs, objects, tools and inscriptions that display the religious, cultural and artistic beliefs of the cemeteries of northern Fars. Examining the dates on the tombstones and comparing them with written sources shows that their time period is from the Safavid to Pahlavi periods.

Keywords

Rereading

inscription

motifs

tombstone

Marvdasht

Bavanat