Yusef Majidzadeh

Dr. Yousef Majidzadeh (Persian: یوسف مجیدزاده, born 1936 Tabriz), an Iranian archaeologist and director of the excavations at Ozbaki, Qabristan and Jiroft. He believes that Jiroft is the missing link of the chain of civilization and says it has such a significant civilization that he would be proud to be named an honorary citizen of the ancient site.

In a seminar entitled “Jiroft, the Cradle of Oriental Civilization” held in Kerman, he said: «The history of civilization in Jiroft dates back to 2700 BCE and the third millennium civilization is the missing link of the chain of civilization which archaeologists have long sought.»

«We do not deny the Mesopotamian civilization, but we believe that the Jiroft culture is of equal importance to the Mesopotamian. The only difference is that the Mesopotamian civilization had cultural continuity while the Jiroft civilization suffered from ups and downs for natural reasons. Thus it emerged in a certain period and was buried at a later time.»

Madjidzadeh, however, maintains that pottery found at Jiroft compares to shards from Tepe Yahya dated to 2800 BC. In addition, he reasons, it would have taken nearly half a millennium for Jiroft’s artisans to develop the degree of skill that attracted King Enmerkar’s envy in 2500 BC, an inference that pushes back the establishment of Jiroft to about 3000 BC.

He was retired from University of Tehran after Iranian Revolution and now living in France.

Selected bibliography

Majidzadeh, Y. 1977. Excavation in Tepe Qabrestan: The First Two Seasons 1970 and 1971. Marlik 2:45-61.

Majidzadeh, Y. 1982. Lapis lazuli and the Great Khorasan road. Paleorient, 8/1: 59-69

Alizadeh, Abbas, Y. Majidzadeh, and S. Malek Shahmirzadi, eds. 1999 The Iranian World: Essays on Iranian Art and Archaeology presented to Ezat O. Negahban. Tehran, Iran, University Press.

Madjidzadeh,Y.,2003 Jiroft: The Earliest Oriental Civilization, Tehran,

Madjidzadeh,Y.,2003 “La découverte de Jiroft,” Dossiers d’Archeologie, no. 287, pp. 19-26