HARVARD GAZETTE ARCHIVES

C.C. Lamberg-Karlovsky, the Stephen Phillips Professor of Archaeology and Ethnology, is familiar with Iran, having worked there from 1967 through 1976. 'I've worked throughout the region - Oman, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Jordan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan - and of all of them, I like Iran the most. It's the prettiest of them all.' (Staff photo Peter DiCampo/Harvard News Office)

The project aims to explore a region of northeast Iran near the Caspian Sea that Harvard archaeologist C.C. Lamberg-Karlovsky believes may have been an important way station on the famed Silk Road, the overland trade route that linked China to Central Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.

Lamberg-Karlovsky, the Stephen Phillips Professor of Archaeology and Ethnology, is familiar with Iran, having worked there from 1967 through 1976. He recently signed an agreement with the Iranian government for a six-year project in the 125-mile-long Atrek River valley, which he believes held a significant urban population between 2500 and 1500 B.C.E.

The Atrek River flows along the border of the former Soviet republic of Turkmenistan. This location close to the border of the Soviet Union kept the area closed throughout the Cold War years. Unfortunately for archaeologists interested in exploring the region, by the time the Soviet Union fell, the Iranian revolution had occurred, closing the country to foreign scientists.

Iran's view toward foreign archaeologists softened in recent years as reform-minded politicians came to power. The government invited foreign archaeologists to apply to work in the country and joint Iranian-German and Iranian-Australian digs are already under way.

The Harvard project would be a joint effort with Iranian archaeologists. The agreement calls for an initial survey of the Atrek valley this year, probably in the fall, with test digs and other information gathering that would determine where more thorough excavations would take place.

After that, researchers would return each year for five years, with both sides having a chance to review work and amend the agreement after three years.

Lamberg-Karlovsky said his team will be made up of experienced field personnel, something he said is important given the delicate situation with Iran, both internally and externally. Tensions between conservative and moderate political forces within Iran, as well as between Iran, the United States, and the rest of the international community over nuclear weapons, will make the situation of foreign archaeologists in Iran particularly delicate.

Just how delicate was brought home to Lamberg-Karlovsky in August, when he arrived in Tehran for a major scientific conference on the recent discovery of a Bronze Age civilization near Jiroft, close to Lamberg-Karlovsky's earlier digs. When he arrived at Tehran's airport, however, Lamberg-Karlovsky was turned away and put on the next flight out of the country.

The fact that a second American scientist received similar treatment and that Iranian officials who had invited him apologized profusely didn't help, as the episode has not been fully explained. The invitation to begin archaeological work in Iran remains open.

"They're welcoming us to return in May to do our research project," Lamberg-Karlovsky said. "Though we'll probably do it in September [to escape the summer heat]."

When they finally get to the Atrek River valley, the Harvard-Iranian team may have to make do without some high-tech tools that normally accompany them on research trips. Because of U.S. sanctions on Iran, they are barred from bringing such commonplace electronics as laptop computers, digital cameras, and geographic positioning system devices.

Despite the uncertainty and restrictions put on the trip, Lamberg-Karlovsky is eager to go. With the opening of the former Soviet republics, archaeological activities are booming on the other side of the border in Turkmenistan, revealing that the civilization linking Central Asia with the Middle East was more complex and widespread than previously realized.

The region was a center for mining the semiprecious stone lapis lazuli, revered by the ancient Egyptians. The Egyptian use of lapis lazuli is evidence that trade must have been widespread in the ancient world.

"We can link the Central Asian world to the Mesopotamian World in an area that has hitherto not been explored," Lamberg-Karlovsky said. "We're filling in the map of archaeological knowledge."

alvin_powell@harvard.edu

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