The Achaemenid Ceramic Horizon as seen from Ancient Zranka: an Overview

In the Old Persian inscriptions enumerating the “countries/peoples” subjected to the authority of the Achaemenid Kings, the name of the territory around the Hamun Lake and the lower course of the Helmand River – on the modern political border between Iran and Afghanistan – is attested in a form to be read as Zranka. Notwithstanding several archaeological researches carried out both in the Iranian and the Afghan part of the area, evidence concerning settlements and material culture during the Achaemenid period in this wide region remains rather meagre and elusive. This paper analyses the archaeological evidence from the area corresponding to ancient Zranka in order to outline a picture of its pottery production and point out related research problems.