A newly discovered building complex north of the “Frataraka” Complex. Consequences for the spatial definition of the Persepolis-Parsa Royal Area

International audienceFrom 2012 to 2014, geophysical and pedestrian surveys were implemented in fields located north of the Persepolis Terrace in the framework of the current Iranian-Italian archaeological mission working on the Persepolis, or Parsa, area. Surveys were carried out north of the so-called "Frataraka" Complex and revealed part of the plan of an almost 1 ha building. This large complex presents distinctive features for suggesting a dating back to the Achaemenid period and for interpreting it as an official building. Being located 600 m north of the Terrace, this discovery led us to approach the question of the occupation dynamics around the "Frataraka" Complex and beyond the limit of the Royal Area, defined in a broad sense as the core district of Parsa hosting most of the official buildings