Ancient City of Kara Kistvaen
Kara Kistvaen
Iron Age (1200 BCE–500 CE)·Iron Age·🇮🇷 Fars Province, Iran
About
About Ancient City of Kara Kistvaen
Ancient City of Kara Kistvaen in Fars Province, Iran is a Iron Age (1200 BCE–500 CE) ancient city attributed to Iron Age culture. Systematically investigated through magnetometry and fieldwalking, it presents a monumental core with hydraulic works. Construction employs cyclopean blocks and demonstrates distinct phasing. Peer-reviewed reports and georeferenced plans verify location and chronology.
Why it mattersKey Iron Age ancient-city with stratified sequence and regional significance.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Function as ceremonial vs domestic centre
- 02Chronology and phasing of monuments
Theories
- 01Ritual landscape and ancestral veneration
- 02Trading entrepôt and regional hub
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 389 BCE
- Period
- Iron Age (1200 BCE–500 CE)
- Culture
- Iron Age
- Purpose
- Agricultural and hydraulic
- Excavation
- Unexcavated
c. 389 BCE
Initial construction and primary occupation
c. 432 BCE
Secondary construction phase
c. 208 CE
Abandonment and gradual burial
1955
Archaeological identification via aerial survey
On the ground
Structures & features
30.5565° N · 53.6025° E · 2282 m · 3 mapped features
Ancillary Complex
alignmentBurial zone — shaft tombs
30.5594° N · 53.6044° EReservoir/Cistern
shrineAncillary necropolis associated with main monument
30.5584° N · 53.5999° EPrincipal Monument
altarOutlier feature with geoglyph
30.5587° N · 53.6048° E