مروری بر پراکندگی اشیاء سفالی معروف به گوپال در فلات ایران مقالة

کرانه‌ها و پس‌کرانه‌های پهنۀ دریای پارس بخش بزرگی از جنوب ایران است که درطول تاریخ موردتوجه بوده و استقرار‌های بسیاری در این بخش از ایران شکل گرفته است. موقعیت و شرایط جغرافیایی نقش مهم و تعیین‌کننده‌ای در شکل‌دادن تجارت، اقتصاد و اوضاع اجتماعی دریای پارس داشته است. این دریای نیم‌بسته ازنظر وضع طبیعی و اقتصادی و موقعیت نظامی و سیاسی دارای ارزش به‌سزایی است؛ همان‌طورکه حیات اقتصادی و اجتماعی بین‌النهرین به دو شاهرگ آبی آن، یعنی دجله و فرات وابسته است و همان‌گونه که رود نیل نقش اصلی و کلیدی را در تاریخ مصر بازی می‌کند، به‌همان نسبت دریای پارس را می‌توان گلوگاه مهم و حیاتی تاریخ و تمدن و اقتصاد ایران دانست. این دریای کوچک و زرخیز در طول هزاران سال هم‌چون سفره‌ای پر نعمت آغوش خود را بر ایرانیان و دیگر ملل مجاور باز کرده تا ساکنان سواحل آن، از ذخایر متنوع و گوناگونش بهره‌مند شوند. پژوهش حاضر به معرفی اشیاء سفالی که به گوپال مشهورند و بیشتر در نیمۀ جنوبی ایران، به‌ویژه در کرانه‌ها و پس‌کرانه‌های دریای پارس به‌وفور یافت می‌شوند، پرداخته است. علت نام‌گذاری این اشیاء سفالی دقیقاً مشخص نیست. نمونه‌های اولیۀ اشیاء مذکور از بوشهر و خوزستان گزارش شده است. طی مطالعات حاضر در کرانه‌ها و پس‌کرانه‌های شمالی دریای پارس تعداد بسیاری از این اشیاء مورد شناسایی قرار گرفته است. در این پژوهش جهت گردآوری اطلاعات از دو روش کتابخانه‌ای و بازدید میدانی از برخی محوطه‌های حوزۀ موردمطالعه استفاده شده است. پرسش‌های اصلی پژوهش حاضر عبارتنداز: گوپال‌ها به چه بازۀ زمانی قابل تاریخ‌گذاری هستند؟ کاربرد گوپال‌ چیست؟ پراکنش گوپال‌ها در چه مناطقی است؟ علاوه‌بر معرفی گوپال‌ها و بررسی ویژگی فنی آن‌ها دربارۀ کاربرد و تاریخ‌گذاری نسبی این اشیاء بحث‌شده و نقشۀ پراکنش این اشیاء در فلات ایران ارائه شده است.

Abstract the beaches and hinterland of the Persian Gulf are a large part of southern Iran, which has been of interest throughout history, and many settlements have been formed in thispart of iran. This semi-closed sea has a great value in terms of natural and economic situation and military and political situation Just as the economic and social life of Mesopotamia depends on its two waterways, the Tigris and the Euphrates, and just as the Nile River plays the main and key role in the history of Egypt, in the same way the Persian Sea can be considered an important and vital bottleneck of history and civilization and Iran’s economy. Over thousands of years, this azure and fertile sea has opened its arms to Iranians and other neighboring nations like a table full of blessings, so that the residents of its shores can benefit from its diverse reserves. The present research has focused on the introduction of pottery objects known as Gopal, which are found in abundance in the southern part of Iran, especially in the beaches and hinterland of the Persian Gulf. In this research, two library methods and field visits to some areas of the studied area have been used to collect information. The main questions of the present research are: To what period of time can the Gopals be dated? What is the use of Gopal? In what areas are the Gopals distributed? In addition to introducing Gopals and examining their technical features, the use and relative dating of these objects are discussed and the distribution map of these objects in the plateau of Iran is presented. Keywords: Gopal, Persian Gulf, Iranian Plateau, Khuzestan, Bushehr, Hormozgan. Introduction As a historical and strategic waterway, the Persian Gulf has always been the focus of rulers and throughout history, it has been the place of passage for the ships of Eastern and Western civilizations. The coast of the Pars Gulf is a suitable habitat for the settlement and establishment of human societies. In recent years, as a result of the archaeological surveys of the beaches and hinterland of the Pars Gulf, many prehistoric, historical and Islamic sites and hills have been identified. Among these, a number of ancient sites and mounds of clay objects have been found, which are called Gopal. The present research has studied these objects that are scattered on the banks and back banks of Pars Gulf. Research questions: In this research, the most important questions include: 1- In what regions is the range of distribution of clay objects known as Gopal? 2- Are Gopals produced in the northern part of the Persian Sea? 3- Do these objects have different types in terms of appearance? 4- Gopals belong to what period of time? 5- What is the use of Gopal? Gopal classification Clay objects known as Gopal are clay cylinders whose height varies between 15 and 30 cm and their weight varies between 1 and 4 kg. The upper part of the Gopals is round with a diameter of 10 to 17 cm and the lower part is saucer-shaped with a diameter of 6 to 12 cm. Their floor is rough and uneven, but they are stable to be on the ground. Williamson has introduced the Gopals with the title of base and divided them into four categories, Gavbandi type, Bushehr type, Ganaveh type and Tepe Yahya type (Williamson 1972: 100). According to technical specifications and appearance, Gopals were classified into 9 types. But since this study is mostly in the form of a library and the distribution area of Gopals has not been fully investigated in the field, it is possible that there are more and different species that are hidden from the authors of this study. Distribution of Gopal in the Persian Gulf The basis of the study of the distribution of Gopals is the study of survey reports, records and field studies (Table 1) that have been published and published so far, as well as the authors’ visits to a number of sites on the beaches and hinterland of the Pars Sea. The distribution map presented in this research is the beginning of a way to carry out additional studies in the field of these clay objects in the future and undoubtedly has some shortcomings (map 1). The distribution of this pottery was in the beaches and hinterland of the Persian Gulf as Louis Pelly says: they are found along the coast (Pelly 1863-1864: 44). Hertzfeld He writes: “Along the shore, under the ruins of early Islamic houses, large quantities of clay handles are found, which are called Gopals, and are introduced as flakhen, (Herzfeld 1926: 260). The most distribution of Gopal in Behbahan city is in Zidon section. The Gopal area in the south of Omidieh belongs to the middle Islamic centuries, of this Gopal as “Clay base” (Sadeghi Rad 2018). In Bushehr province, the distribution of these pottery objects increases significantly and they are found in abundance in almost all of the province. Gopals of different types have been reported from the grounds of Sarkho Castle, Shahzadeh Mohammad Darvishi in Shanbeh and Tasuj sections of Dashti city (Zarei 2018: 143). In the north-west of Fars province, two samples were introduced from Tell Ahangaran and Tell Khazaneh in Noorabad Mamsani in the study of Askari Chavardi, the first sample is Gopal made of stone. In the west of Fars, in the area of Fathabad in Sarmashed of Kazeroon city, in the research of Parsa Ghasemi, broken samples of Gopal clay were reported, which are “scattered in the plowed lands” (Ghasemi 2010: 327-327). In the southern part of Fars province, the distribution of Gopals is more and these objects have been reported from six sites. Golrokh hill is located in Chahorz district, Lamard city, (Askari Chavardi, Amiri: 2002) A small round base was found on the surface of Tape Yahya, probably from the second period (Achaemenid period). This type, which is scattered throughout the Jiroft region, can be easily distinguished from the 3D type, and it may be considered the background of the Sassanid foundations.” (Williamson 1972: 100) and in the southern part of the Persian Sea, he refers to Al-Ain in Abu Dhabi, where Bushehr-type clay foundations are scattered there (ibid.). Examples similar to Gopal In terms of the overall shape and appearance of the Gopals, there are similarities with objects such as decorative studs obtained from Chaghazanbil, and probably those who consider these objects to be architectural decorations because of the similarity between There were Gopals and studs (Figure 13). The example of a fire pit (Figure 14) which Mustafavi believes is related to the Seleucid period (Mustafavi 1968: 71) or the base of fire pits made of stone or plaster from Weigal (Javari and Bagh-Sheikhi 2019), Plang-Gard (Alibeigi 2012: 201), Shian (Moradi 2009), Bandian Derghez (Rahbar: 2008), Imamzadeh Mohammad (Askari Chavardi 2010), Tell Shahid, Keshto village and Brazjan (Tawfiqian 2017) and the images of firetemple on the coins of Sasanian kings. , have general similarities with Gopal (Figure 14). Williamson introduces a type of wooden bases that are painted and were used for Bushheri or Kuwaiti boxes, and these clay bases are the background of wooden bases (Williamson 1972). A type of tallow burners that became very popular in the Islamic period (Wilkinson 1973) are examples similar to Gopal. Two stone objects have been found from Imamzade Abdullah in Shushtar, which Ahmad Eghtari refers to as fire pits or the base of fire pits belonging to the Parthian period. He classified them except Gopal (Eghtari 1996: 703-702). (Figure 15). Unglazed candlesticks with a similar design have also been found in Merv (Wilkinson 1973: 314) (Figure 15). In Hormozgan province, there is a type of embroidery called Shakbafi, for its weaving and production, they use a tool similar to gopal, called Choghn. A cloth is placed on it (Figure 16). The material of this mortar is sometimes wood and sometimes clay or plastic, which is actually considered a support for a pillow and a base for weaving a tape” (Mokhtari-Dehkordi, Asadi Farsani 2013: 39). Dating and use of Gopal Without conducting detailed experiments and extensive and methodical studies, the dating of Gopals will be relative, it is also necessary to know the use of these clay objects in the hills and areas where they are widely produced and used. Methodical archaeological excavations should be carried out. There are many theories and assumptions about the use of Gopals. Lt. Col. Lewis Pelley, says about the Gopals: “I picked up some spirally grooved cylinders of baked clay. Traditions say that these cylinders were the ones that the infidels used to use a leather strap to attack. They threw targets” (Pelly 1863-1864: 44). After pointing out Poly’s opinion and its illogicality, Haynes Gaube mentions these objects as architectural decorations and the limitations of this assumption are listed, including why they are found in Siraf but not in Khuzestan? (Gaube 1980: 384). Herzfeld believes that the use of Gopals is similar to the Assyrian clay studs, whose ends were placed in Diora (Herzfeld 1926: 260). Williamson believes that the Gopals were used as bases for holding wooden chests known as Bushheri or Kuwaiti chests, and later they were replaced by painted wooden bases (Williamson 1972: 101). Parsa Ghasemi believes that these terracotta objects had an architectural use, similar to the columns used in the Achaemenid building of Dahane Gholaman (Ghasemi 2009: 86). Askari Chavardi mentions clay Gopals as the base of Sasanian vessels (Askari Chavardi 2012, Askari Chavardi 2018) and the type of stone that he considers as the base of the hearth (Askari Chavardi, Pots, Pitri 2013: 149-148). During a conversation with the residents of Shahr-e Viran in Dilam city, they stated that the nomads use these pieces of clay for weaving ni-chit (Chiq or Chikh) (Figure 17), and it was believed that these tools are used for production Nothing has been used. Kamiyar Abdi believes that these clay objects have industrial use (Abdi 2007). Conclusion During this research, the existing Gopals were classified into 9 categories according to their appearance and technical characteristics, their exact typology requires a systematic archaeological investigation in the distribution area of Gopals in the banks. And then the beaches of the Persian Glf. The present studies showed that Gopals are mostly found in the sites related to the Sassanid and Islamic periods. According to the terminology of Gopal or Gopal, it is not true that this pottery object has a war function, and probably only according to its appearance, they put the name of Gopal or Gopal on it. According to examples similar to Gopal used in the art of embroidery, the assumption that Gopal was probably used as a tool used in sewing or weaving industries. According to the classification done, Gopals probably had various uses. As long as the Gopals are not recovered from their context, determining any use for this clay object will be more of a hypothesis.