GUNESPÄN: A LATE IRON AGE SITE IN THE MEDIAN HEARTLAND.

Günespän-e Pätappeh is located 30 km to the southeast of the modem town of Malayer in Hamadan Province, 1 km away from the Kalän Dam. The site was excavated during six seasons as part of the archaeological salvage project inside the dam reservoir. The Islamic, Parthian, Achaemenid, Median and Bronze Age remains discovered in the excavations show that GQnespän was an important site in the Zagros Mountains. Most important, however, is the discovery during the fourth and fifth seasons of excavation of a fortified Median building showing close similarities to other Median architecture at nearby Nush-i Jan, Godin and Baba Jan. This newly uncovered structure sheds new light on the Median presence in western Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]