Wood carving in prehistoric Iran
In the Museum of Geology of Tehran, there are wooden works from the distant past; Among the fossils are a part of the trunk of a Jurassic tree (140 to 170 million years ago) found in Zanjan, and a miner’s wooden shoe from an ancient mine in Iran. In the book of Iranian handicrafts, Issa Behnam considers the beginning of woodcarving in our country from the beginning of the civil history of Iran.
Bahram Nafri attributed the oldest artifacts and signs of early house building in Iran to about the seventh and eighth millennia BC. At that time, when man turned to the plains and took a successor, he built his house out of wood and made the most of the wood and provided himself with weapons, ladders, bridges, chariots and ships. According to archeological excavations in the Chaghamish region, documents have been obtained that indicate that Iranians sailed in the sixth millennium BC; Also, in the fifth millennium BC, there were people living in the Silk region of Kashan who had a very ancient culture and civilization in the world.
Many artifacts have been found in the area, including many statues, one of which is a human bone statue from the fifth millennium BC that is housed in the Museum of Ancient Iran. According to documents and evidence from around 4200 BC, in Shush they built strong cylindrical huts and their stability was such that they supported the wooden fence to climb it.
Archaeological excavations carried out on the third floor of the Silk Hill in Kashan indicate the existence of wooden roof coverings from the architecture of the third millennium; Other excavations in the burnt city on the banks of the Helmand River have left the remains of residential areas, including wood for the roof, door sills, doors, windows, portable beams, as well as under the stairs; But what stands out most are the valuable woodwork, some of which is housed in the Museum of Ancient Iran; Among these works are wooden combs, a dagger handle, probably with holes in it for a jewel, a piece of wood that looks more like a dish or tray, and a piece of wood with a shape similar to a human foot the size of a natural shoe. There are all that date back to the third millennium BC.
The chariot wheel made of wood and bronze, which was found during excavations in the Choghaznabil region of Susa and belongs to the late second millennium BC, shows the use of wood in the manufacture of war tools and equipment. Also, a statue of a cow and an iron cow made of bronze and found in excavations in Cheraghali Tappeh (Marlik Hill), dating to the late second millennium and early first millennium BC, indicates that wood was used in those days. It has played a major role in the construction of agricultural implements.
Ali Akbar Sarfaraz and Bahman Firoozmandi have stated about the use of wood in the architecture of the first millennium BC: “In the excavations carried out in the temple of Babajan – Noorabad area – traces of architecture have appeared on several floors. The first floor (2), like the second floor (2), has a rectangular square hall, with the difference that the hall or the foyer of this building is roofed and its roof is maintained by wooden beams on two rows of wooden columns.
Elsewhere, there are similarities between the Babajan ɪ and buildings and the Achaemenid architecture. There are similarities with the Achaemenid columned halls. In the meantime, Hasanlu’s halls with wooden columns are among the best and most advanced Iranian columns, and in fact, Babajan’s floor represents the stage of transferring this architectural style to the south.
For the first time in the history of Iranian mythology, Kiomars from the Pishdadian family made efforts to provide residential houses using tree branches, and Jamshid made wooden ships; With the beginning of the Zoroastrian religion, the use of wood mentioned in the Avesta “Huvante Peta” has been used to illuminate fire temples, which is “Bersam”.
