Khanileh ( fa, خانيله, also
Romanize
Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...
d as Khānīleh; Kurdish: Xaníle) is a village in
Dowlatabad Rural District, in the
Central District of
Ravansar County
Ravansar County ( fa, شهرستان روانسر) is in Kermanshah province, Iran, part of what is unofficially referred to as Iranian Kurdistan. The capital of the county is the city of Ravansar. At the 2006 census, the county's population w ...
,
Kermanshah Province,
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
. At the 2006 census, its existence was noted, but its population was not reported.
Khanileh is located 6 km to SW of
Ravansar
Ravansar ( fa, روانسر; also Romanized as Ravānsar and Rawānsīr) is a city and capital of Ravansar County, Kermanshah Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 16,383, in 3,838 families.
Archaeology and history
Ravansar ha ...
and ca. 56 km to NW of
Kermanshah
Kermanshah ( fa, کرمانشاه, Kermânšâh ), also known as Kermashan (; romanized: Kirmaşan), is the capital of Kermanshah Province, located from Tehran in the western part of Iran. According to the 2016 census, its population is 946,68 ...
, in Western Iran. It lies at southern slopes of the hilly range of Salakan and it has a commanding view on the Gomeshter (Garaw) plain. Salakan is a part of radiolarian belt and has numerous springs outlets on its northern and southern slopes. The presence of these springs and commanding view of Khanileh over the plain attracted prehistoric people to the area since the
Chalcolithic
The Copper Age, also called the Chalcolithic (; from grc-gre, χαλκός ''khalkós'', "copper" and ''líthos'', "stone") or (A)eneolithic (from Latin '' aeneus'' "of copper"), is an archaeological period characterized by regular ...
period and the early occupations continued to the Bronze and Iron Ages. The remains of these early occupations are visible on an ancient mound at west of the village and an ancient cemetery of
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
period in the village itself. TL dating of a number of sherds from western mound has revealed two groups of dates: fourth mill bc. and first mill. bc. There is a low mound with
Parthia
Parthia ( peo, 𐎱𐎼𐎰𐎺 ''Parθava''; xpr, 𐭐𐭓𐭕𐭅 ''Parθaw''; pal, 𐭯𐭫𐭮𐭥𐭡𐭥 ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Med ...
n occupation remains at south of the village called Tapa Bawa. These sites were surveyed in 1986 and 2006 that led to discovery a number of sherds and lithic artifacts. Presence of Islamic age potsherds indicates that the village was an occupation site during this period.
A very old mulberry tree (Ophith morus persicus) that according to local people is older than 150 years was cut in 2011 by the owner of the nearby garden
A photo of the tree taken in 2009
References
Hassanzadeh, Y., M. Karami, F. Bahrol’oloomi, K. Taheri, A. Tahmasbi, A. Moradi Bisetouni and F. Biglari (2012) Khanileh: New evidence of Chalcolithic and Early Historic occupations from northwest of the Kermanshah Plain, Central Zagros,
Kreyenbroek, Philip G., and Stefan Sperl (1992)
The Kurds: A Contemporary Overview, London: Routledge, 1992.
Levine, L.D., and Mary M. A. McDonald (1977)
The Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods in the Mahidasht", Iran 15: 39-50.
Levine D. L., and T. Cuyler Young (1986)
A Summary of the Ceramic Assemblages of the Central Western Zagros from the Middle Neolithic to the Late Third Millennium B.C.", Colloques Internationaux CNRS, Prehistore De La Mesopotamie, Paris: editions du CNRS Paris 198b), pp. 15–53.
Parpola, S. & M. Porter (2001)
The Helsinki Atlas of the Near East in the Neo-Assyrian Period, Edited by: Simo Parpola & Michael Porter, The Casco Bay Assyriological Institute The Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project, Finland.
{{Portal, Iran
Populated places in Ravansar County
Archaeological sites in Iran