An Iranian-French archaeological team has excavated an Achaemenid era dam located in Fars Province, 30 kilometers northeast of Pasargadae. It was the first time the dam had been excavated, Hamidreza Karami, an archaeologist based at Pasargadae, told the Tehran Times in an interview at the site on April 1. There are two ancient dams in the Hana Pass (Tang-e Hana) which were built approximately 2500 years ago in the beginning of the Achaemenid era.

The Iranian-French archaeological team excavated Dam 1 in February and March 2008 but did not excavate Dam 2. Karami said the dams appear to have been built for some industrial purpose, perhaps to power mills, since there were no agricultural activities in the area in ancient times which would have required irrigation.

They may have also been used to prevent floods of the Sivand River, which is also called the Polvar River, he added.  Karami stated that the dams were constructed in a good location.


The water channels of Dam 2 are lower than those of Dam 1, and the reservoir formed by Dam 2 was bigger than the one formed by Dam 1, Karami explained.

The French members of the team that worked on the dam were also part of the Iranian-French archaeological team that excavated an Achaemenid era palace in the Bolaghi Valley which experts believe was built by Darius the Great.

The Bolaghi Valley, which begins about four kilometers from Pasargadae, is home to over 130 important archaeological sites.

Unfortunately, some sites have already been submerged by the reservoir of the Sivand Dam and many of the rest are threatened, but the Achaemenid palace is on higher ground and will not be submerged.

Copyright: Mehr News Agency