Qalaichi

Qalaichi, Ghalay-chi, قلایچی in Persian (UTM 38S 615552 m E 4046795 m N) is an important archaeological site for the Iron Age of north-western Iran. It is a mound 11 metres (36 ft) high, situated about 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) north-west of Bukan City in West Azerbaijan Province 18 kilometres (11 mi) away from the border of Kurdistan province. The site is located near a village from whence it got its name. Hills and mountains surround it; the highest one in the east is the so-called Kal-Tage.

Qalaichi

سه گردان، قلایچی ، قلایه چی Ghalay-chi
Glazed tile excavated by B. Kargar from Qalaichi in the Urmia Museum. Depicted is a winged sphinx.
Shown within Iran
Location	Bukan, Iran
Region	West Azerbaijan province
Coordinates	36°34′13″N 46°16′31″E
Type	settlement
Length	93m
Width	102m
Height	1507m
History
Material	stone, mud brick, baked brick
Founded	9th-7th century BCE
Abandoned	?
Periods	Mannean
Cultures	Iron Age II and III
Associated with	0
Site notes
Excavation dates	1985, 1999-2006
Archaeologists	E. Yaghmaei, B.Kargar
Condition	plundered, later excavated
Ownership	public
Public access	accessible

Discoveries

Qalaichi is known from cuneiform texts as a settlement town which lay in the polity of Mannea. The main period of occupation extended from the 9th to 7th centuries BCE. Key archaeological finds include a stele inscribed with an Aramaic text.^[1] In addition, the ancient settlement yielded a large number of glazed objects. Some of these objects are monochrome and the others show complex compositions.^[2] The excavated artifacts are now in the collections of Urmia Museum and Tehran National Museum.