Haft Tepe (Kabnak) Ziggurat — Elamite Royal Tomb Complex
Haft Tepe · Kabnak · Tepe Haft · Elamite Haft Tepe ziggurat
Middle Elamite (Kabnak period)·Elamite·🇮🇷 Khuzestan Province, Haft Tepe (ancient Kabnak) — between Susa and Chogha Zanbil, Iran
About
About Haft Tepe (Kabnak) Ziggurat — Elamite Royal Tomb Complex
Late Middle Elamite (c. 1470 BCE, King Tepti-Ahar of Elam) ziggurat-temple-tomb complex at Haft Tepe (Kabnak) — 33×30 m base platform ziggurat with double temple, 354 m vaulted tomb “Royal Tomb” with 23 skeletons, brick funerary chapel and enormous storage magazines (40×120 m). Bridge between Susa and Chogha Zanbil Dūr-Untash: smaller than Zanbil but with intact vaulted mudbrick funerary architecture; inscribed tablets of Kabnak administration (400 tablets). Excavated by Ezzat Negahban (University of Tehran, Penn) 1965–79. Tomb vaults with barrel arches are earliest monumental vaults in Iran.
Why it mattersOnly intact vaulted Elamite royal tomb; links Shutrukid Susiana to Untash-Napirisha's Chogha Zanbil 30 km west; 400 tablets close Second Intermediate-like dark age.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Identity of 23 skeletons — royal family or retainers
- 02Relation to Dūr-Untash founding
Theories
- 01Tepti-Ahar built Kabnak as rival capital before Untash founded Dur-Untash
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. 1470 BCE (Tepti-Ahar, Middle Elamite)
- Period
- Middle Elamite (Kabnak period)
- Culture
- Elamite
- Builders
- Tepti-Ahar (Tepti-ahar)
- Purpose
- Ziggurat temple + royal funerary vault complex
- Abandoned
- c. 1350 BCE
- Rediscovered
- 1965 (Ezzat Negahban)
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c. 1470 BCE (Tepti-Ahar, Middle Elamite)
Initial construction
c. 1429 CE
Major expansion
On the ground
Structures & features
32.0806° N · 48.3247° E · 90 m · 3 mapped features
Haft Tepe ziggurat podium
ziggurat33 m ziggurat platform
32.0806° N · 48.3247° EVaulted royal tomb
tomb354 m barrel-vaulted tomb chamber
32.0803° N · 48.3244° ETepti-Ahar temple north
templeDouble temple platform east of ziggurat
32.0807° N · 48.3250° E