Gavmishan Historical Bridge in Western Iran - CAIS Archaeological & Cultural Daily News of Iran©

The historical Gavmishan bridge near Ilam in western Iran is believed by experts to date back to the Sasanid era. It has undergone restoration during different ages before being repaired in its current fashion in the Islamic period.

In Persian, Gavmish roughly means buffalo. Ancient people used to believe a male buffalo loses his mate. He embarks on a massive hunt to track down his mate before finding her in a cave in the area. They called the area Gavmishu everafter.

The bridge was built on five fountains out of which just one flows now.

Gavmishan resembles in its architecture the Shadravan bridge in Susa which was built at about the same time as Gavmishan.

There are stairs in the middle column which suggest the bridge was not only a route but a shelter.

The bridge’s construction materials include stone, lime mortar and brick.

Some archaeologists believe the destruction of the bridge is the result of a quake which shook the area in more than 1100 years ago.

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