Fars

The documentation project features the application of innovative technologies for the study of the Sasanian landscape of Fārs, and in particular of Ardaxšīr-Xwarrah, to develop various tools and strategies to promote the conservation and enhancement of the archaeological sites in the area recently included in the UNESCO Sassanid Archaeological Landscape of Fars Region (2018). This territory played a central role in establishing the Sasanian rule and was affected by impressive works of monomialization, reorganisation and exploitation of natural resources. It was the Sasanian reorganization that made the urban site of Ardaxšīr-Xwarrah/Šahr-e Gur a key node in the landscape of early Islamic southern Iran.

The first activities focused on two monumental bas-reliefs of Ardaxšīr I – founder of the Sasanian dynasty – carved on the rock walls of the Tangāb gorge, depicting his triumph over the last Arsacid ruler Adawān IV and the subsequent royal investiture before the god Ohrmazd. The documentation also concerned the bas-relief of Šābuhr I at Dārābgerd celebrating the triumph of the Sasanian ruler over the Roman emperors Gordian III, Philip the Arab and Valerian. Here, the combination of laser scanning, photogrammetry and 3D restitution made it possible to highlight highly deteriorated and difficult-to-read details. The same documentation work was further extended to the architectural structures of the domed vault of Qalʼeh-e Dokhtar and the monumental tomb of Ardaxšīr-Xwarrah/Šahr-e Gur, where traces of decorative and figurative paintings are still visible.

As part of the project, in September 2018, the team carried out a campaign dedicated to the study, documentation, filing and reorganisation of the varied archaeological material stored within the two warehouses of the Fīrūzābād Cultural Heritage Base, an ideal location for welcoming visitors within in a future exhibition set-up.