Journal of Art and Civilization of the Orient

An Investigation of the Skeleton Inside the Bronze Coffin in the Castle to Determine Its Gender, Identity, and Time of Life

https://doi.org/10.22034/jaco.2025.519812.1472
Volume 13, Issue 50
Winter 2026
Pages 52-63
Journal of Art and Civilization of the Orient

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Mohammad Mehdi Tavassoli 1
Amir Amirinezhad 2
Ali Sajadi 3
Mansoureh Nezaratizadh 4
Masoud Darabi 3

1 Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, University of Sistan and Baluchestan, Zahedan, Iran

2 Faculty of Conservation and Restoration, Isfahan University of Art, Iran

3 Faculty Member, Khorramabad Cultural Heritage, Lorestan, Iran

4 Senior Expert in Conservation and Restoration, Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, Lorestan, Iran

Abstract
Approximately twenty years ago, in February 2005, archaeologists from the Lorestan Cultural Heritage General Office unearthed a bronze coffin containing human skeletal remains at a depth of 60 centimeters below the surface in Chubtarash Village, located 31 kilometers south of Khorram-ābād. The initial studies and preliminary report by the General Office of Lorestan Cultural Heritage identified the remains as belonging to a prince of the Parthian rulers, a powerful empire that prospered from 247 BC to 224 AD. Since that time, no further scientific information or reports have been published concerning this find. This study aims to verify the initial attribution and determine the biological sex, ethnic affiliation, and chronological placement of the individual. Accordingly, several primary research questions are posed: the burial rites and the presence of two gold ocular and oral covers placed over the face; the relevance of a coin found beneath the sternum, recovered only after the removal of sediment, clay, and vegetal matter from within the bronze coffin; the biological sex and identity of the individual; and ultimately, the temporal and social context of his life. The research methodology combines physical anthropology, laboratory and field studies, and a review of the ancient history of southwestern Iran, alongside detailed osteological observations and scientific analysis of cranial and postcranial sexual dimorphism, adhering to internationally recognized sources in bioarchaeology and biocultural anthropology. Through collaboration among a multidisciplinary team—including laboratory specialists, conservators, archaeologists, osteoarchaeologists, forensic anthropologists, historians, epigraphers, and numismatists—it has been determined that the remains belong to a young Iranian male of aristocratic elite status during the Elymaean period.

Keywords

Khorramabad
Chubtarash Village
Coffin and Skeleton
Golden Blindfold and Coin
Elymian- Selucid Period
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