| Hajiabad is a large village near Darab, in eastern Fars, the southern province of Iran. During the summer of 1977 a mound situated in the vicinity of the village was bulldozed for agricultural reasons. The discovery of numerous high-quality stucco works during the course of the bulldozing prompted the Iranian Center for Archaeological Research to organize the first, and so far the only, excavation of the site.;As a result of this excavation, a structure, subsequently called the Manor House, was uncovered. Although the building was extensively damaged by the bulldozing, I was able to reconstruct much of its plan in drawings. A comparison of this plan with other Parthian, Sassanian, Kusan, and Islamic large-scale dwellings and palatial structures shows that the Manor House was probably composed of different groups of units, each having a different function. Four such groups survive, here called Sections A, B, C, and D. My study indicates that the two parts of Section A were probably used for public and private audience. Section C was the chapel, itself divided into two parts; one part may have been dedicated to the cult of Anahita and the other to Fire. Section B, a private residential area, was connected to the public part of Section A and probably served to accommodate guests of rank or attendants. Part of Section D was probably used by the lord of the Manor.;Sections A and C were extensively decorated, the former with stucco and murals and the latter exclusively with stucco. Wall paintings uncovered in the public part of Section A comprise portraits, as well as what is probably a battle scene between two cavalry men. The stuccos from Section C include secular and religious subjects. The first group is composed mainly of busts, several of which can be fairly securely identified. The cult of a fertility goddess, probably Anahita, is the subject of the remaining stuccos from Section C. |
