1The Authors present the preliminary results of a multidisciplinary research project launched in 2019 within the frame of the long-established Iranian-Italian Joint Archaeological Mission in Fars.

2P. Callieri introduces the scientific premises of the project and summarises its research objectives, which include the study of early Sasanian settlement dynamics, communication routes, socio-economic and cultural relationships in a wide area encompassing the coastal sector of ancient Pārs and the Firuzabad plain.

3A. Askari Chaverdi focuses on the connectivity between Firuzabad and the Persian Gulf, overviewing archaeological evidence from highland, hinterland and coastal plains in the aforesaid territory. The area of Ardashir Khwarrah obviously represents the reference point for the highlands, while the site of Tomb-e Bot, with its Achaemenidising architectural remains and an uninterrupted occupation sequence from the Arsacid to the Sasanian periods, testifies for the cultural milieu in the inland plains during the period at the issue. Recent excavations at the site of Tal-e Pargo, instead, give a glimpse of the socio-economic dynamics in the coastal area between the 3rd century BCE and the 7th century CE.

4Topographical documentation activities by A. Eghraʿ provide updated maps and digital models of the inner circular sector of Ardashir Khwarrah, with its architectural and hydraulic features. Eghraʿ assesses that the original plan of the Takht-e Neshin was larger and more complex than previously thought, with several rooms and a central courtyard adjoining the main chahar taq. In addition, the building was probably faced with a large pond, in its turn connected to a similar water basin located further to the south-east.

5K. Mohammadkhani presents the first results of geophysical analyses carried out at two selected areas of Ardashir Khwarrah: one in the south-western portion of the city, across the fortification wall, another across the north-western margin of the inner urban core. Several significant linear anomalies were detected beneath the surface, possibly related to architectural structures and needing further investigations.

6The final section by D. M. Mezzapelle overviews methodological criteria to identify ports and natural landings along the Iranian coast of the Persian Gulf in the Sasanian period. Further studies on ancient harbours and seafaring in the area would benefit from geo-archaeological analyses and comparisons with the local traditional seamanship or with navigation practices attested in other areas of the ancient world (e.g., the Mediterranean and the Red Sea).