Emergency Conservation Report on the Sassanid Arches on the First Floor of the Western Side of the Espahbad Khurdish Arch-Structure, Savadkouh

Abedini Araqi , Mehdi; Nikoobayan, Abolfazl; Keshavarz Divkolaee , Mohammad

doi:10.61882/kcr.7.1.89

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Volume 7, Issue 1 (6-2024) KCR 2024, 7(1): 89-108 | Back to browse issues page

‎ 10.61882/kcr.7.1.89

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Abedini Araqi M, Nikoobayan A, Keshavarz Divkolaee M. Emergency Conservation Report on the Sassanid Arches on the First Floor of the Western Side of the Espahbad Khurdish Arch-Structure, Savadkouh. KCR 2024; 7 (1) :89-108
URL: http://journal.richt.ir/kcr/article-1-192-en.html

Emergency Conservation Report on the Sassanid Arches on the First Floor of the Western Side of the Espahbad Khurdish Arch-Structure, Savadkouh

Mehdi Abedini Araqi

, Abolfazl Nikoobayan

, Mohammad Keshavarz Divkolaee ^*

ISEMO- The International Association for Mediterranean and Oriental Studies in Rome, Italy; Iranian Scientific Committee on Troglodytic Architecture (ICTA), Tehran, Iran.

Abstract: (2053 Views)

Conservation and restoration after archaeological excavations are important steps topics that should be given more attention, especially when a structure is excavated completely and uncovered, it is certainly faced with fundamental weaknesses and destructions. When these structures are unearthed, they are exposed to an environmental imbalance. At this point, the cooperation between archaeologists and restorers is of high importance. One of these protections has been carried out on an architectural work called Espahbad Khurshid arch-structure located on the northern slopes of the Alborz Mountains in south of Mazandaran province and in the mountainous part of Savadkouh city. In the summer of 2023, the historical vault of Espahbad Khurshid was excavated for the first time. The C¹⁴ dating documents that this architectural work has been used from the 3rd century AD to the 7th century AD and is related to the beginning of the Sassanid era until the beginning of the Islamic period in northern Iran. The large arch structure of this building still remained on the three western, eastern and central sides. The height of the arch opening is 100 meters, and its horizontal length is about 85 meters. Its depth is 5 meters at the lowest parts and 20 meters at the highest part. In total, about 8,500 square meters of the structure remained from this building. On the western side of this arch on the first terrace, an archaeological excavation has been carried out, which provided important finds including numerous pottery sherds, weaponries including arrow heads, glass vessels and sealing clay. Important architectures were also revealed. Among them were some arches with Sassanid style and decorations which were immediately protected and restored after excavation, since the upper parts of the arch, which were visible under the rubble, were badly damaged. This restoration was done in cooperation with a large group of climbers and volunteers interested in history, archeology and nature tourism. This group has carried the needed materials for restoration including water, sand and plaster to the first terrace. The restoration style was based on the theory of the Venice charter. In this article, we present the description of the architectural structure in the natural arch of Espahbod Khurshid and its archaeological and conservation measures.

Keywords: Arch- structure Espahbad Khurshid, Savadkouh, Sassanid arch, emergency conservation.

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Type of Study: Case Report | Subject: Application of modern sciences, technologies, equipment, materials and methods
Received: 2024/02/4 | Accepted: 2024/05/13 | Published: 2024/06/20

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