A late 4th to early 3rd millennium BC grave in Hajjiabad-Varamin (Jiroft, south-eastern Iran): defining a new period of the Halil Rud archaeological sequence

A large catacomb grave was recently excavated in Hajjiabad-Varamin, in the Halil Rud valley (Kerman province, Iran). Dated from the late 4th to the early 3rd millennium BC, the burial is abundantly furnished with 90 artefacts, which provide for the first time an insight into the local material (ceramic) assemblage used in the Halil Rud valley around 3000 BC. The ceramics (here fully published) help to define a new ceramic horizon (which we propose to call “Varamin Period”), between the 4th millennium BC Aliabad wares horizon and the c. mid-3rd millennium BC occupation periods of Konar Sandal South. The analysis of the spatial distribution of the grave furnishings also reveals aspects of the final stages of the funeral, as well as some immaterial implications hidden behind the material evidence.