ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE ANCIENT MINING AND SMELTING IN THE CENTRAL PART OF TABAS CITY, ON THE EDGE OF LUT DESERT

Masoudi, Zabihollah; Taghavi, Abed; Hashemi Zarjabad, Hasan; Naeimi Taraei, Parastou

doi:10.22034/jsbs.2022.336751.1013

ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE ANCIENT MINING AND SMELTING IN THE CENTRAL PART OF TABAS CITY, ON THE EDGE OF LUT DESERT

Document Type : Original Research Article

Authors

Zabihollah Masoudi ¹

Abed Taghavi ²

Hasan Hashemi Zarjabad ³

Parastou Naeimi Taraei ⁴

¹ Ph.D. student in Archaeology, University of Mazandaran, Babolsar, Iran

² Assistant Professor, Department of Archaeology, University of Mazandaran, Babolsar, Iran.

³ Associate Professor, Department of Archaeology, University of Mazandaran, Babolsar, Iran.

⁴ Conservation Scientist, Research Center for Conservation of Cultural Relics, Research Institute of Cultural Heritage and Tourism, Tehran, Iran.

10.22034/jsbs.2022.336751.1013

Abstract

Tabas County in South Khorasan province is one of the regions that have high capacities in terms of mining and metallurgy studies, and compared with the other regions of Iran, this region is unknown. The abundance of smelting areas and accumulated slag and the presence of mineral cavities to extract minerals in the central part of Tabas are proof of extensive mining and metal production in this region, which plays an important role in the economy and ecological sustainability of the region along with other economic activities. Regarding the quantity and quality of the studies prepared so far on mining and metallurgy in this city, the cultural and historical capacities of this cultural area have not been introduced as they should be. During the archaeological studies conducted by experts hired by the Cultural Heritage Office of South Khorasan, working in the central part of Tabas county, a mining site, and two slag sites have been identified and studied, which indicates the role and importance of the mining and metalworking in the social and economic life of the central cultural region. Citing the results of the field method, reviewing texts and written sources related to the central part, and identifying evidence related to the metalworking industry, smelting technology, and type of ore deposit thoroughly, this study has been provided to understand better the process and cycle of ancient metalworking, which includes three stages of mining, extraction, and melting. By typological and comparative studies of discovered slag with adjacent metal centers, it seems that the composition of slag includes the main elements of iron, lead, and copper. The typological and comparative studies of slag discovered in neighboring metal centers indicate that the composition of slag includes the main elements of iron, lead, and copper. The archaeological field studies conducted on the mines and smelting verify the fact that metallurgists in this area used open and underground methods to extract the ore, and after transferring the mineral parts to the smelting workshops and furnaces, they used the roasting method.

Keywords

Tabas city

central part

archaeology

mining

smelting furnace

چکیده: شهرستان طبس در استان خراسان جنوبی از جمله مناطقی است که از منظر مطالعات معدن‌کاوی و فلزگری دارای قابلیت‌های بالایی است و در قیاس با دیگر مناطق ایران منطقه‌ای ناشناخته است. در این میان بخش مرکزی طبس به جهت انبوه محوطه‌های ذوب و سرباره‌های انباشته از یک‌ جهت و وجود حفره‌های مواد معدنی به‌منظور استخراج کانی فلز مورد استحصال شاهدی بر فعالیت گستردة معدن کاری و استحصال فلز در این منطقه است که نقش مهمی در اقتصاد و پایداری زیست ‌بوم منطقه در کنار سایر فعالیت‌های اقتصادی داشته است. با این‌وجود حجم و کیفیت مطالعاتی که تاکنون در مورد مطالعات معدن‌کاوی و فلزکاری در این شهرستان صورت گرفته درخور استعدادهای فرهنگی- تاریخی این پهنة فرهنگی نبوده است و آن‌گونه که شایسته است معرفی نشده‌اند. طی بررسی‌های باستان‌شناسی انجام شده توسط کارشناسان اداره میراث فرهنگی خراسان جنوبی و بازنگری این بررسی‌ها توسط نویسندگان در بخش مرکزی شهرستان طبس یک معدن و دو محوطه سرباره مورد شناسایی و بررسی قرارگرفته است که بیانگر نقش و اهمیت معدن‌کاوی و فلزکاری در حیات اجتماعی و اقتصادی منطقه فرهنگی مرکزی است. این پژوهش سعی دارد به استناد نتایج بررسی روشمند میدانی باستان‌شناسی، متون و منابع نوشتاری در بخش مرکزی، شواهد مرتبط با صنعت فلزکاری، فنّاوری ذوب و نوع کانسار استحصال‌شده را باز شناساند تا امکان درک بهتر فرایند و چرخة فلزکاری شامل سه مرحله معدن‌کاوی، استخراج و ذوب فلزات فراهم آید. با بررسی‌های انجام شده، گونه‌شناسی و مقایسه تطبیقی سرباره‌های مکشوفه با مراکز فلزی شناخته‌شده همجوار به نظر می‌رسد ترکیب سرباره‌ها شامل عناصر اصلی آهن، سرب و مس باشد مطالعات و بررسی‌های میدانی باستان‌شناسی انجام‌گرفته در معادن و محوطه‌های ذوب فلز شناسایی‌شده نشان می‌دهد، فلزگران این منطقه از روش‌های روباز و زیرزمینی برای استخراج کانی استفاده کردند و پس از انتقال قطعات کانی به کارگاه‌ها و کوره‌های ذوب به روش تشویه (برشته کردن) برای ذوب فلزات بهره برده‌اند.

کلیدواژه: شهر طبس، بخش مرکزی، باستانشناسی، معدنکاری، کوره ذوب.

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