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CAIS ARCHAEOLOGICAL & CULTURAL NEWS^©

14 September 2005

Iranian English archaeologists have started to research the ancient wall of Gorgan which is also famous as Eskandar Dam.

The team launched their project on 3 September and will continue on the first phase until 17 October.

Gorgan wall, located in the northern province of Golestan, is one of Iran’s unique defensive walls of ancient times. 200 kilometers long and consisting of 40 fortresses, the wall, also known as Eskandar dam, is of great historical importance and according to experts is Asia’s second longest wall after the Great Wall of China.

Consisting of five non-Iranian experts and some fifteen Iranians, the team aims at carrying out some geophysical studies of the wall, which will help reveal its past secrets without any need of excavation and digging. The team will also study and carry out laboratory tests on the trench around it and its sediments, its architectural features, the brick kilns, and the area’s natural and cultural landscape.

Eberhard W. Sauer, lecturer in classical archaeology from Edinburgh University, supervises the team including Richard James, Lucian Stephan, and David Baker. Two other experts are to be joining the team in the near future. The Iranian experts are headed by Jebrael Nokadeh, director of the cultural heritage base near Gorgan wall.

Previous studies on the wall have led to the discovery of some architectural structures and a fire temple dating to the Sassanid era.

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