The archaeological studies, conducted by the Centro Scavi di Torino (formerly called Centro Scavi dell’ISMEO e di Torino) from 1960 to 1961, concerned the Kuh-i Khwaja complex in Iran’s Seistan region.
The project of studies in the upper Atrek valley is part of the programme for studying the Parthian civilization, in order to better define the demarcation between the region’s more properly Parthian cultural aspects and those that are linked to pre-existing local traditions.