05 March 2003

Iran's Cultural Heritage Organization (ICHO) announced here on Wednesday that the first industrial unit of Abbasabad Historical Complex in Behshahr was unearthed in recent archeological excavations. Archeological research on Abbas-aabad, which got underway recently, aims to determine the sites of historical complex of the Safavid era.

The complex, which is already registered as a national monument, is located 9kms to the southeast of Behshahr, Mazandaran province on the Alborz heights among a dense forest.

According to a report released by ICHO media department, the complex served as the private refuge for Shah-Abbas ther Great of the Safavid dynasty.

The historical complex originally consisted of a palace, a villa surrounded by water, a bathhouse, a mosque, a bridge, a dam, watchtowers and a paved road; out of which a floating framework, the watchtowers and parts of the bathhouse remain.

According to an archeologist from Mazandaran province Cultural Heritage Department, Abdolvahab Mousavi, the industrial unit consists of a water mill and its associated elements such as water channel and related installations.

The report added that the water mill, which is located two kms to the southeast of Abbasabad historical garden, was possibly constructed simultaneously with the establishment of the city known as Ashraf-ol-Belad, the present Behshahr by Iranian architects in 16th century. "Abbasabad monument consists of two stories, the first of which was used to pump water to the bathhouse. The second story served as the palace, repose and recreation center of Safavid emperors," concluded the report.