Tepe Hissar

Tepe Hissar also spelled Tappeh Hesār (Persian: تپه‌حصار) is an ancient Near Eastern archaeological site in Semnan province in northeastern Iran about 360 kilometers east of modern Tehran. It is located near the village Heydarabad two kilometers southeast of the medieval town of Damghan.

The site is notable for its uninterrupted occupational history from the 5th to the 2nd millennium BC. The quantity and elaborateness of its excavated artifacts and funerary customs position the site prominently as a cultural bridge between Mesopotamia and Central Asia. It is thought to have been a stop on the Great Khorasan Road.

In recent scholarship, Greater Khorasan refers to an extensive interaction sphere in Central Asia during the Middle and Late Bronze Age. The emergence of complex societies during this period is observed especially in southern Central Asia. Thus, during 2400–1500 BCE, the rise of the Greater Khorasan Civilization (GKC) is being considered.

Expeditions in 1931–32 by the University of Pennsylvania and 1976 by the University of Pennsylvania Museum revealed that the site was inhabited from 3900 to 1900 BC. Evidence was uncovered of pottery-making and metallurgy. A large Sasanian era palace was also uncovered.