The study of middle bronze age interments at Khanghah Gilavan: tentative results

We give a detailed description of burials 14 and 24, typical of the Khanghah Gilavan cemetery, discovered in 2006 near Khalkhal, in the Ardabil Province, northwestern Iran. Parallels to the finds are discussed, mostly suggesting the Middle Bronze Age, although similar handmade vessels, hairpins, and daggers had been common in the region since the Early Bronze Age. The most illustrative examples are Nakhchivan-type vessels, the two handles of which are decorated with buttons. The burials indicate cultural changes over the Early and Middle Bronze Ages, despite the continuity of the ceramic manufacturing tradition.