Massoud Azarnoush (25 March 1945 – 27 November 2008) was an Iranian archaeologist.

He was born in

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 ...

. He received his MA from the department of

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

University of Tehran The University of Tehran (Tehran University or UT, fa, دانشگاه تهران) is the most prominent university located in Tehran, Iran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as its research and teaching pro ...

in 1972 and his PhD from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1985. After returning to Iran, he taught at the University of Tehran before taking up the direction of the Iranian Center for Archaeological Research. He had a fundamental role in reorganizing the ICAR in its new building in the Mas'udieh Palace. Azarnoush helped young archaeologists and students to join to the ICAR and participate in various archaeological research and activities. Although his career was

historical archaeology Historical archaeology is a form of archaeology dealing with places, things, and issues from the past or present when written records and oral traditions can inform and contextualize cultural material. These records can both complement and conflict ...

, but he had a keen interest in developing research on the pre- and proto-history of Iran, especially

Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...

studies. He emphasized the importance of interdisciplinary studies such as

archaeobotany Paleoethnobotany (also spelled palaeoethnobotany), or archaeobotany, is the study of past human-plant interactions through the recovery and analysis of ancient plant remains. Both terms are synonymous, though paleoethnobotany (from the Greek words ...

and

zooarchaeology Zooarchaeology (sometimes called archaeozoology), also known as faunal analysis, is a branch of archaeology that studies remains of animals from archaeological sites. Faunal remains are the items left behind when an animal dies. These include bon ...

. Azarnoush welcomed international cooperation, and the series of rescue excavations in the Bulaghi gorge near

Pasargadae Pasargadae (from Old Persian ''Pāθra-gadā'', "protective club" or "strong club"; Modern Persian: ''Pāsārgād'') was the capital of the Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus the Great (559–530 BC), who ordered its construction and the location of ...

in cooperation with teams from Germany, France, Poland has been one of the rare successes of archaeological fieldwork in Iran during the past 20 years. He excavated at important sites such as

Kangavar Kangavar ( fa, كنگاور, ''Kangâvar''; also Romanized as Kangāvar) is a city and capital of Kangavar County, Kermanshah Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 48,901, with 12,220 families. Kangavar is located in the easte ...

Hamadan Hamadan () or Hamedan ( fa, همدان, ''Hamedān'') ( Old Persian: Haŋgmetana, Ecbatana) is the capital city of Hamadan Province of Iran. At the 2019 census, its population was 783,300 in 230,775 families. The majority of people living in Ha ...

Susa Susa ( ; Middle elx, 𒀸𒋗𒊺𒂗, translit=Šušen; Middle and Neo- elx, 𒋢𒋢𒌦, translit=Šušun; Neo-Elamite and Achaemenid elx, 𒀸𒋗𒐼𒀭, translit=Šušán; Achaemenid elx, 𒀸𒋗𒐼, translit=Šušá; fa, شوش ...

, and Hajiabad where he found a

Sassanian The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...

manor house at with stucco decorations, which served the basis for his doctoral dissertation and book. He was preparing a field project at the Parthian remains at Qaleh Yazdgird near Kermanshah. He re-investigated Tepe Hegmataneh in

. His excavations demonstrated that the actual remains date to the

Parthian Parthian may be: Historical * A demonym "of Parthia", a region of north-eastern of Greater Iran * Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD) * Parthian language, a now-extinct Middle Iranian language * Parthian shot, an archery skill famously employed by ...

period at the earliest. Median Ecbatana should be sought elsewhere. He died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

on his return from the excavations at Hamadan at the age of 63.Ali Mousavi, Massoud Azarnoush, Iranica Antiqua, vol. 45, 2010 Azarnoush 1971

Selected bibliography

*Azarnoush, M. 1987 ''Sassanian Art in Eastern Fars: The excavation of a manor house at Hajiabad, Darab, Iran'', 346 p., Ph.D. thesis, University of California, Los Angeles. *Azarnoush, M. 1991 From Persepolis to al-Fustat: Continuation of Achaemenid Architectural Concepts, ''Proceedings of the Second European Conference of Iranian Studies''. Held in Bamberg, 30 September - 4 October 1991. B.G. Fragner - C. Fragner - G. Gnoli - R. Haag-Higuchi - M. Maggi and P. Orsatti (eds.). Roma. *Azarnoush, M.1994 ''The Sasanian Manor House at Hajiabad'', Iran. Firenze, Le Lettere Coll. Monografie di Mesopotamia *Azarnoush, M., 1999, Kangavar, un temple seleucide d'Anahita devient un monument sassanide, ''Dossiers d'archéologie. Empires perses d'Alexandre aux Sassanide'' *Azarnoush, M. and B. Helwing, 2005 Recent Archaeological Research in Iran - Prehistory to Iron Age. ''Archaeologische Mitteilungen aus Iran und Turan'' vol. 37.

References

External links

Obituary: Massoud Azarnoush (1945-2008) {{DEFAULTSORT:Azarnoush, Massoud Iranian archaeologists 1945 births 2008 deaths Kurdish humanities academics 20th-century archaeologists Iranian Kurdish people People from Kermanshah