Tepe Hissar
| Alternative name | Tappeh Hesār |
|---|---|
| Location | Semnan Province, Iran |
| Coordinates | 36°09′16″N 54°23′06″E / 36.1545°N 54.3850°E |
| History | |
| Periods | Chalcolithic and Bronze Age |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 1931-1932, 1972, 1976, 1995 |
| Archaeologists | Erich Schmidt, Robert H. Dyson, Maurizio Tosi, Giuseppe Tucci, Esmaiil Yaghmaii |
Tepe Hissar (also spelled Tappeh Hesār) 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.
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 Empire palace was also uncovered.