Sheikh-e Abad
تپه شیخ آباد · Sheikh Abad · Ali Abad? No, Sheikh-e Abad
Aceramic Neolithic (c.8500–7700 BCE)·Zagros PPN (Sheikh-e Abad horizon)·🇮🇷 Kermanshah Province, Sahneh, Central Zagros, Iran
About
About Sheikh-e Abad
Low mound on the Sahneh plain east of Kermanshah in central Zagros, excavated by Matthews and Richardson (Reading/Cambridge). Aceramic PPN sequence 8500–7700 BCE with plastered houses, grinding stones and goat remains — sister site to Ganj Dareh in the Zagros Neolithic core.
Why it mattersSahneh PPN mound (8500 BCE) defining the Zagros aceramic trajectory parallel to Ganj Dareh — seed processing and early goat.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Why Shahi Tump vs Sheikh Abad PPNA difference?
Theories
- 01Matthews central Zagros aceramic autonomy model
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- PPN settlement c.8500 BCE
- Period
- Aceramic Neolithic (c.8500–7700 BCE)
- Culture
- Zagros PPN (Sheikh-e Abad horizon)
- Builders
- Zagros PPN (Sheikh-e Abad horizon) communities
- Purpose
- Early Zagros PPN herder-collector village on Sahneh intermontane plain
- Rediscovered
- Modern archaeological survey/ rescue
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
c.8500 BCE
PPN village founded
c.8000 BCE
Plaster-kiln horizon
c.7700 BCE
Transition to pottery
2010
Matthews CZAP sounding
On the ground
Structures & features
34.0500° N · 47.4500° E · 1350 m · 3 mapped features
Sheikh-e Abad — Cemetery area
palaceKey sub-area of Sheikh-e Abad (Aceramic Neolithic) showing Zagros PPN (Sheikh-e Abad horizon) horizon
34.0492° N · 47.4496° ESheikh-e Abad — Kiln field
wallKey sub-area of Sheikh-e Abad (Aceramic Neolithic) showing Zagros PPN (Sheikh-e Abad horizon) horizon
34.0500° N · 47.4502° ESheikh-e Abad — Palatial compound
gateKey sub-area of Sheikh-e Abad (Aceramic Neolithic) showing Zagros PPN (Sheikh-e Abad horizon) horizon
34.0508° N · 47.4508° E
Gallery