Provenance of the Bronze Age lapis lazuli pieces from the Early Urban Center of Konar Sandal, Jiroft, Southern Iran

• Published in: Journal of archaeological science, reports Vol. 55; p. 104527
• Main Authors: Oudbashi, Omid, Shekofteh, Atefeh, Eskandari, Nasir
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.05.2024
• Subjects: Badakhshan; Bronze Age; Diopside; Earth and Related Environmental Sciences; Geovetenskap och relaterad miljövetenskap; Historia och arkeologi; History and Archaeology; Konar Sandal South; Lapis Lazuli; Provenance; Pyrite; Provenance; Pyrite; Diopside; Konar Sandal South; Lapis Lazuli; Badakhshan; Bronze Age
• ISSN: 2352-409X; 2352-4103
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2024.104527

•Analysis of a group of Bronze Age lapis lazuli pieces from a stone workshop excavated in Konar Sandal, Southern Iran.•Application of microanalytical methods for provenance study.•Finding Badakhshan lapis lazuli deposits as a potential resource for supplying lapis lazuli for Konar Sandal. The sources of lapis lazuli objects found in the Bronze Age of the Iranian Plateau and its trade routes have been a subject of interest and a research question. Four archaeological pieces of lapis lazuli recovered from a stone-working workshop in the Bronze Age site of Konar Sandal South (Jiroft Plain), southern Iran, were analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) techniques to characterize the mineralogical composition and the possible provenance of raw materials. Results showed that these objects are identical based on their composition, presenting diopside and specific trace element proportions as provenance markers. Comparison with available data from Iranian archaeological sites and ancient resources from Central Asia revealed that these finds may have been imported from lapis lazuli mines located at Badakhshan in Afghanistan, as they were supplied raw materials for ancient lapis lazuli objects of Iran.