Nush-i Jan, Godin II, Baba Jan and Ziwiye: pottery and polities

The explanations distinguish finds, interpretations and open questions. Sources appear at the end of the page.

What the source says

According to Encyclopaedia Iranica, "Important sites such as Nush-i Jan, Godin II, Bābā Jān, and the excavated site of Ziwiye flourished during this time", that is, in Iron Age III. The article continues: characteristic of the Iron III period in western Iran, which is "known mostly from surveys", is "the presence of many local ceramic assemblages consisting of both plain and painted wares, indicating a variety of regional developments, perhaps indicating discrete polities". Source 1.

Dating

Iranica dates Iron Age III "throughout western Iran after 800 to ca. 600 B.C.E."; the Met's timeline dates it about 800-550 BCE. The site's Iron Age III page follows the Met, so its last half-century, about 600-550 BCE, is Iron Age III on the Met's scale but later than Iranica's end. The article gives no separate date for any of the four sites. The numeral in "Godin II" follows the same convention as "Hasanlu V" and "Hasanlu IV" in the article, where it marks a period of a site. Sources 1, 2.

Does pottery reveal polities?

The source's wording is graded. The assemblages indicate "a variety of regional developments" and only "perhaps" discrete polities. Pottery styles show where people made and used similar vessels; equating a style area with a political entity is a further step that needs other evidence, and the article, as read, does not offer it here. That the period is known mostly from surveys adds a second limit: a survey records material collected from the surface, which can show where pottery types occur but not, on its own, the order of layers at a site. Source 1.

Four sites, not a political map

The article names the four sites together as flourishing in Iron Age III, but on the page as read it does not assign them to polities, does not describe their buildings and does not say which assemblage belongs to which site. It singles out Ziwiye as "the excavated site", without explaining the distinction. The Met's timeline for 1000 BCE-1 CE, as read, does not mention any of the four. Sources 1, 2.

Scope of reading: the Encyclopaedia Iranica article "Iron Age" and the Met timeline page for Iran, 1000 BCE-1 CE, were read on 24 October 2026. The excavation reports of Nush-i Jan, Godin, Baba Jan and Ziwiye and the survey publications were not read, so this page gives no plans, levels or pottery types.