https://www.livius.org/articles/place/gardanah-gavlimash/ has a picture of an archer carved onto the rock (picture included)
They seem to think it was done by a independent Persis dynasty uninfluenced by Parthian art.
However the rock art is supposed to have been conserved
https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/508864/Fars-province-s-sole-Parthian-stone-relief-restored
Their claim is that "The relief depicts a Parthian soldier in the act of shooting an arrow with a quiver strapped to his back"
In reality the 'individual' portrayed might be the grandfather who served in the armies of Persis whose identically equipped Grandson fought for Parthia but I thought people might be interestedgardanah_gavlimash_3_pc.jpg
What does the graffiti say?
Romans go home...? :P
Romanes eunt domus!
Can't remember where I originally saw this one, but I went for a "late Achaemenid or later" date in the Montvert book (figure 13).
Quote from: Duncan Head on Jan 21, 2025, 11:27 AMCan't remember where I originally saw this one, but I went for a "late Achaemenid or later" date in the Montvert book (figure 13).
Apparently it is 'stylistically' Achaemenid but with shorter garments and the pose less static, which does fit with your "late Achaemenid or later"
Somebody now seems to think the 'later' could be perhaps 100BC
Quote from: Jim Webster on Jan 21, 2025, 12:53 PMApparently it is 'stylistically' Achaemenid but with shorter garments and the pose less static, which does fit with your "late Achaemenid or later"
I'm not sure it's any less static than some of the poses on Achaemenid seals or even coins.
Almost all we have for the provincial
frataraka (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frataraka) rulers of Persis is their coinage, which doesn't match up with this relief stylistically very well.
Still a bit of an enigma to my mind.
Interesting with regard to the Fratarakas there is some 'movement' in this coin, possibly c. 205 to 164 BC
I think, enigmatic, sums it up nicely 1280px-Oborzos_drachm.jpg
With no great knowledge of the art of the period, just looking, there certainly seem similarities in the clothing and particularly the pose of the lower body/legs. The archer's robe seems shorter, only reaching the calf of the right leg rather than ankle but don't know whether this is stylistically significant.
Potts (and I believe other authorities) have suggested that the archer is possibly Elymaean, or at least a close neighbour, given the uncertainty surrounding what was Elymais and what Persis, and when, during the Seleucid and earlier Parthian periods.