Date of Sivand Dam Inundation to be Discussed

News Category: Cultural

Regarding the latest discoveries in Bolaghi Gorge, the Cultural Commission of Iran’s Parliament along with authorities of the Cultural Heritage Organization and the Ministry of Energy of Iran will decide on the time and method of inundating Sivand Dam.

Sivand Dam has been built in Bolaghi Gorge which is known to have been the location of the ancient Imperial Road and is one of the historical sites of the Pasargadae. With inundation of the dam 130 historical sites unearthed so far in Bolaghi Gorge will drown. Now with the cooperation of Sivand Dam authorities and Bolaghi Gorge salvation team, some joint teams from Iran and foreign countries are busy with archaeological excavations in the site to save the main parts of Bolaghi Gorge before its flooding.

“With completion of the second phase of the joint Iranian-Italian team’s work, the first season of Bolaghi Gorge salvation is wrapped up, therefore the Cultural Commission of Iran’s Parliament with the attendance of the authorities of the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization of Iran, Sivand Dam project, and the Ministry of Energy will hold a session next week to consider the time and method of flooding the dam,” said Mohammad Hasan Talebian, head of Parse and Pasargadae foundation and head of the salvation project of Bolaghi Gorge.

“According to previous agreements with Fars province water authorities, the flooding of the dam will be carried out on a date agreed upon by ICHTO and the organization has the right to have complete supervision on the method of watering the dam during the initial process,” added Talebian in this respect.

According to Talebian, based on previous agreements, if the flooding of the dam causes no harm to the historical evidence behind the dam, Sivand Dam will be flooded in February/March 2006. The advantage of flooding the dam at this time of the year is that Sivand River is not flooding, therefore the water level behind the dam will be lower.

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