The Samarran phenomenon has been under discussion since the early 20th century. Over the past several decades, increasing evidence has indicated that it was geographically distributed in a very large area across the Near East. In this regard, the eastward spread of the Samarran phenomenon across the Iranian frontier was little known, because related finds had mostly been recovered in the 1960–70s. This article highlights the discovery of new evidence in the transitional zone that connects the Zagros highlands with the Mesopotamian lowlands. During recent surveys in the plains of Mehran, Meimak, Soumar and Sarpol-e Zahab, a number of sites were found. They yielded ceramics identical with those already reported from nearby late Samarran sites such as Chogha Mami, Songor A and Rihan I. Chronologically, surface materials indicate that these newly found Iranian sites should belong to the late phase of Samarran period, coinciding with the so-called Chogha Mami Transitional (CMT). As seen from the natural setting of the sites along streams, and due to the predominance of nomadic herders in this transitional zone, we may assume that transhumant herders played a role in the eastward spread of the late Samarran phenomenon via the river valleys and that the site's inhabitants might have been familiar with a primitive irrigation system. Furthermore, it is speculated that the cold dry climatic event of 8.2 kya might have resulted in an increased intensity of population in the lowlands. Nevertheless, the subsequent climatic optimum appears to have paved the way for the eastward spread of late Samarran/CMT elements. Regardless of what was the major trigger of such an expansion, however, intensive economic interactions of societies probably played a role in the very early sixth millennium B.C., when natural raw materials such as bitumen were imported from western/southwestern Iran to central/southern Mesopotamia.

Boosted by a proliferation in metal-detected finds, categories of personal adornment now constitute a vital archaeological source for interpreting Viking-age cultural interaction in the North Sea region. Previous research in England has explored the potential of this metalwork in relation to the formation of ‘Anglo-Scandinavian’ identity, but without due consideration of a wider spectrum of cultural influences. This article redresses the balance by shifting attention to twenty-eight belt fittings derived from richly embellished baldrics, equestrian equipment, and waist belts manufactured on the Frankish continent during the period of Carolingian hegemony in the later eighth and ninth centuries AD. The metalwork is classified and then contextualized in order to track import mechanisms and to assess the impact of Carolingian culture on the northern peripheries of the Frankish empire. The main conclusion is that the adoption, adaptation, and strategic manipulation of Carolingian/northern Frankish identity formed an embedded component of cultural dynamics in Viking-age England, scrutiny of which sheds new light on patterns of interconnectivity linking peoples of the North Sea world.