Wolfram Kleiss (1930–2020) was a German

archaeologist 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 ...

who spent many years of his life in Iran researching and excavating archeology.

Biography

He was director of the

German Archaeological Institute The German Archaeological Institute (german: Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, ''DAI'') is a research institute in the field of archaeology (and other related fields). The DAI is a "federal agency" under the Federal Foreign Office of Germany ...

in Tehran. He retired in 1995. and died in 2021, aged 90.

Research

He received a research grant from the German Archaeological Institute in 1959 and traveled to Iran for the first time. In 1971–1986, he was director of the institute's Tehran branch and in Iran during the 1970s and 1980s, directed accomplished

archaeological 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 ...

explorations in

Takht-e Soleymān Takht-e Soleymān ( fa, تخت سلیمان, lit=Throne of Solomon), is an archaeological site in West Azerbaijan, Iran dating back to Sasanian Empire. It lies midway between Urmia and Hamadan, very near the present-day town of Takab, and west ...

, Masjid Soleymān,

Bastam Bastam ( fa, بسطام, also romanized as Basṭām; also known as Busṭām and Bisṭām) is a city in and capital of the Bastam District of Shahrud County, Semnan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 7,382, in 1,997 families ...

, and

Bisotun Bisotun ( fa, بيستون; also Romanized as Bīsotūn; also known as Bīsītan and Bīsītūn) is a city and capital of Bisotun District, in Harsin County, Kermanshah Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 2,075, in 527 famil ...

with a team of archaeologist from Iran. He was a member of the German Archaeological Institute, and with his colleague Stephan Kroll he traveled extensively to Iran, visiting over 1000 archaeological sites. Between 1969 and 1978, Kleiss excavated the Urartian fortress at Bastam in co-operation with a team of archaeologists from Iran,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Also, from 1967 to 1979, Kleiss conducted archaeological surveys in northwestern Iran and published the results in a series of articles, according to the

National Museum of Iran The National Museum of Iran ( fa, موزهٔ ملی ایران ) is located in Tehran, Iran. It is an institution formed of two complexes; the Museum of Ancient Iran and the Museum of Islamic Archaeology and Art of Iran, which were opened in 1937 ...

, covering not only

Urartia Urartu (; Assyrian: ',Eberhard Schrader, ''The Cuneiform inscriptions and the Old Testament'' (1885), p. 65. Babylonian: ''Urashtu'', he, אֲרָרָט ''Ararat'') is a geographical region and Iron Age kingdom also known as the Kingdom of V ...

n remains, but all periods from the

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

onwards.

Publications

His publications—more than 300 works—cover the vast topics of architecture and

urbanism Urbanism is the study of how inhabitants of urban areas, such as towns and cities, interact with the built environment. It is a direct component of disciplines such as urban planning, which is the profession focusing on the physical design and m ...

in Iran. Among his books 'History of the Architecture of Iran', '

Caravanserai A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was a roadside inn where travelers ( caravaners) could rest and recover from the day's journey. Caravanserais supported the flow of commerce, information and people across the network of trade routes covering ...

s of Iran'; ' Bīsutūn, History, and History of Research 1963-1967' and 'Bastam/Rusa-i Uru.Tur’ are more notable. His book ''History of Iranian Architecture (Archaeology in Iran and Turan)'' was published in 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kleiss, Wolfram 20th-century German archaeologists 1930 births 2020 deaths 21st-century German archaeologists German Archaeological Institute Archaeology of Iran German expatriates in Iran Caravanserais in Iran