Early villages and prehistoric sites in the Abharroud Basin, northwest of the Iranian Central Plateau

Abstract

The Abharroud basin is an important region in archaeological studies of the northwestern outskirts of the central plateau, and the west and northwest of Iran. Considering its environmental capabilities and geographical location, studying the region can leads us to a better understanding of regional relations and also inter-regional interaction between the cultural-geographical regions. During the two seasons of archaeological survey, 257 archaeological sites were discovered, dating from the lower Palaeolithic to recent ages. Of these, 34 sites contained prehistoric remains. Most of the identified sites are the remains of scattered villages and seasonal camps in different areas of the basin, on the plain and also impassable heights.