Kermānšāh Project

The fruitful collaborations established by the Sapienza Department of Sciences of Antiquities with local institutions led to a new mission in Iran (2019) that marked the beginning of a new research project focused on the archaeological and historical-cultural heritage of the Kermānšāh region between late antiquity and the early Islamic period: the Iranian-Italian Project on the Sasanian Cultural Heritage in the Kermanshah Province (DiSA – Sapienza; General Directorate of Kermanshah of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicraft of I.R. of Iran).  Placed at the crossroads between the Iranian plateau and Mesopotamia, the Kermanshah region was a privileged setting for civilisations’ encounters, today revealed in its extraordinary archaeological heritage, matched by an equally wide linguistic and cultural variety.  Such unique historical and cultural heritage undoubtedly deserves full rehabilitation and valorisation, also with an eye to sustainable, aware and knowledgeable tourism .

The first field activities, carried out in close collaboration with the local superintendency (National MCTH Kangavar Historical Building Site), took place in November 2019, focusing on the monumental site of Kangāvar, one of the most significant archaeological evidences of the region. The impressive remains of this site still raise unresolved questions about the date, architectural shape and purpose of the complex. Long associated with the temple of the goddess Anahita, mentioned by the Greek geographer Isidore of Charax in his work Mansiones Parthicae (1st century BC – 1st century AD), scholars have recently suggested an earlier date (Sasanian period) and a palatial function. In order to collect data useful for understanding the complex, the Italian-Iranian team focused the research on the architectural aspects of the structure, prioritising the documentation of the column elements (shafts, capitals, bases), whose monumentality characterises the profile of the site. The same campaign also included a survey of the material stored in the warehouse of the Kangavar MCHTH Base, especially ceramic fragments from previous excavations in the monumental complex.

Last but not least, the Italian team and the CNR mission collaborated with the local partner in the organisation of the photographic exhibition entitled Half Century of Archaeological Activities at the ‘Anahita Temple’, aimed at raising awareness in local civil society of the importance and value of the region’s cultural heritage.

In the future, the Kermānšāh Project intends to apply the same multidisciplinary approach and extend the topographical, historical and archaeological investigations to other sites crucial for the interpretation of the historical and cultural context of the region, such as Qalʼeh-e Yazdgerd with the adjoining Pirān and Bān Zardeh valleys, and as yet undocumented sites in the region, such as the Sasanian and early Islamic evidence of Qalʼeh-e Maryam, Zij Manijeh, Sorkheh Dizeh, Zij Anzal, Firuzābād.