i. Prehistoric Site
The position of Bampūr near a river and major routes explains the presence there of prehistoric and later settlements at the foot of a fortress on a high mound. While the mound has not been excavated, Sir Aurel Stein carried out sondages nearby during reconnaissance in the Bampūr valley in 1932 (1937, pp. 104-31). In 1966 Beatrice de Cardi initiated further excavations to establish a ceramic sequence for the region, trenches Y and Z producing consistent results within six successive occupational phases designated Periods I-VI (de Cardi, 1967; 1968; 1970).
The earliest occupation contained no material like that known farther west at Čāh-Ḥosaynī or Yaḥyā V a-c (Lamberg-Karlovsky, 1970, p. 95). While its absence does not preclude such deposits elsewhere on the site, no firm date was assigned to Period I, though links with Yaḥyā IVC suggest a settlement existed by the late 4th millennium (Lamberg-Karlovsky, 1972, p. 97). The range of gray and cream-slipped wheel-made wares and associated objects from the mud-brick building comprising Bampūr I-IV reflected strong ties with the Helmand culture as exemplified at Shahr-i Sokhta (Šahr-e Sūḵta) from late II-III and in Mundigak IV 1-2 (Tosi, 1970, p. 13; 1974, p. 32) and is of relevance to the concept of interaction spheres in and around the Indo-Iranian borderlands (Lamberg-Karlovsky, 1972, p. 99).
New ceramics appeared at the end of Bampūr IV, suggesting contact with Fārs, Makrān, and Oman. Buff and red-slipped wares became dominant in Periods V-VI, when streak-burnished, black-on-gray and incised gray wares like those in Shahr-i Sokhta IV (ca. 2200-1800 b.c.) were introduced. Both gray wares occur also in collective burials of the Umm an-Nar (Omm al-Nār) culture of Oman (cf. de Cardi, 1970, figs. 38 and 42; During Caspers, 1970, figs. 45-46, pp. 319-25; de Cardi et al., 1976, figs. 15 and 17, pp. 118-23), and though few of them can be closely dated Hili North Tomb A is ascribed to the last quarter of the 3rd millennium (Cleuziou and Vogt, 1983, p. 43).
While the evidence from Sīstān and Oman points to a terminal date for Bampūr VI in the late 3rd millennium, radiocarbon determinations for Yaḥyā IVB (Lamberg-Karlovsky, 1971, p. 94) suggest an earlier dating and the matter remains unresolved.
Bibliography
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S. Cleuziou and B. Vogt, “Umm an Nar Burial Customs. New Evidence from Tomb A at Hili North ”, Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 13, London, 1983, pp. 37-52.
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