Tepe Ghabristan: A Chalcolithic tell buried in alluvium.

Abstract

The Chalcolithic tell of Ghabristan in northwest Iran is now buried by alluvium and a magnetometer survey of the tell and its surroundings was undertaken to reveal any features under this cover. After the abandonment of the tell in the late third millennium BC it was used as an Iron Age cemetery by inhabitants of the neighbouring tell of Sagzabad. The magnetometer data show a related irregularly shaped channel that is also considered to be of Iron Age date.Its shallow burial depth, compared with the thick sedimentary layers underneath, indicates a considerable slowdown of alluviation rates in the second millennium BC, possibly related to environmental changes. The survey also found evidence for undisturbed buried building remains, most likely associated with copper workshops.