Sasanian and Islamic Settlement and Ceramics in Southern Iran (4th to 17th Century AD)

By Seth Priestman and Derek Kennet

The monograph comprises the final publication of a study supported by the British Institute of Persian Studies undertaken by Seth Priestman and Derek Kennet at the University of Durham. The work analysis of an assemblage of just under 17,000 sherds of pottery and associated paper archives resulting from one of the largest and most comprehensive surveys ever undertaken on the historic archaeology of southern Iran. The survey was undertaken by Andrew George Williamson (1945–1975), a doctoral student at Oxford University between 1968 and 1971.

The monograph provides new archaeological evidence on the long-term development of settlement in southern Iran, in particular the coastal region from Bushehr to Jask during the Sasanian period up to the c. 17th century.

By collecting carefully-controlled archaeological evidence related to the size, distribution, and period of occupation of urban and rural settlements distributed across Southern Iran, Williamson aimed to reshape our understanding of the long-term economic development of the region. Due to his early death in Oman in 1975, the work was never completed. The key aim of the publication is to do justice to Williamson’s remarkable vision and efforts, and to bring this important new evidence into ongoing conversation with material from across the Persian Gulf and beyond.

The monograph is available from Oxbow.