Yanik Tepe

Yanik Tepe (Persian: یانیق تپه‎) is a Chalcolithic and Bronze Age archaeological site in East Azarbaijan, Iran.

Yanik Tepe
یانیق تپه
Alternative nameقره تپه
LocationTazeh Kand
RegionKhosrowshah District
East Azarbaijan
TypeTell
History
Foundedca. 4,000–3,000 BC
PeriodsChalcolithic, Bronze Age
Site notes
Excavation dates1958–1959
ArchaeologistsCharles A. Burney
ConditionIran National registration number: 4170

Site description

The site is located in Tabriz County, east of Lake Urmia and about 30 kilometres southwest of the city of Tabriz.[1].

Yanik Tepe is a relatively large tell (8 hectares) which rises 16.6 metres above the surrounding plain. It is one of the main protohistoric sites excavated in the region after the Second World War, along with Göy Tepe (Geoy Tepe) and Haftavan Tepe. Excavations at Yanik Tepe were conducted by Charles A. Burney from 1960 to 1962.[2] His excavations revealed a sequence spanning the Chalcolithic (4th millennium BC) to the Early Bronze Age (3rd millennium BC).

The Early Transcaucasian II-III culture flourished around the northern half of the Lake Urmia basin during the 3rd millennium BC. Yanik Tepe is one of the sites that yield clear evidence for this culture.[3]

Bone object
Bone object found in the Bronze Age layers of Yanik Tepe

A bone object found in the Bronze Age layers of the site was originally interpreted by Burney as an amulet. In 2011, ophthalmologist Sahihi Oskooei claimed that it was instead the world's oldest eyewear, made to correct optical problems.[4] Similar objects have been found in excavations at Çatalhöyük, where they may have been used as belt hooks.[5]

References
  1. C. A. Burney, 1961. “Excavations at Yanik Tepe, North-west Iran,” Iraq 23, pp. 138-53.
  2. Burney, C. A. (1964). The excavations at Yanik Tepe, Azerbaijan, 1962: third preliminary report. Iraq, 26(1), 54-61.
  3. C. A. Burney, 1962. “Excavation at Yanik Tepe, Azerbaidjan, 1961,” Iraq 24, 1962, pp. 134-52.
  4. Oskooei et al 2011. An Ophthalmological Study of Fourth Millennium BC eye wears from Iranian and World Museums, Pazhoohandeh 7(85): 356-367.
  5. Russell, N. (1995). Çatalhöyük worked bone. Changing materialities at Çatalhöyük: Reports from the, 1999, 339-368.
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