Early Bronze Age Trade Hub Excavated in Iran

Archaeology Magazine ^ | January 12, 2026 | editors / unattributed

[SunkenCiv]

More than 7,000 artifacts, including clay seal impressions, clay tokens, figurines, and cylinder seals, have been uncovered at Tapeh Tyalineh, a 5,000-year-old site on the Mereg River in western Iran, according to The Greek Reporter. The objects were found in the remnants of mudbrick structures and in trash pits. Shokouh Khosravi of the University of Kurdistan said that the artifacts would have been used to mark jars, seal doors, and keep track of goods such as grain, oil, and possibly wine. The more than 200 designs on the artifacts are similar to those seen on seal impressions from other Early Bronze Age sites in Iran and Mesopotamia. Khosravi concluded that Tapeh Tyalineh was likely an administrative hub for a regional trade network. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Antiquity. To read about evidence of communal feasting in western Iran some 11,000 years ago, go to "BYOB(oar)."

[SunkenCiv]

Examples of jar sealings: 1–4) cylinder seal impressions; 5–14) stamp seal impressions.

Credit: Shokouh Khosravi / Open Access

[SunkenCiv]

[Opinionated Blowhard]

I just listened to an amazing podcast on the trade between what is thought to be a city in Bulgaria and Iran from roughly 7,000 to 10,000 years ago. And it may go back as far as 12,000 years ago. The only reason that we think history started 5,000 years ago is because that is as far back as our current technology allows us to discovery. In the future, I think we are going to find that the early Bronze Age and pre-Bronze Age had a lot more civilization than we currently think.