TEHRAN – Restoration work has begun at Vigolfire Temple, a rare archaeological site of the Sassanid period in the central province of Isfahan, the Regional Tourism Director said on Saturday.
Amir Karamzadeh said on Saturday that the project was launched due to the need to strengthen the interior spaces and walls of the ancient structures near Aran-Bidgol.
“The recovery was started following the planned plans and depending on the state of the structure and required stabilization,” Karamzadeh said.
Discovered in 2010, the Temple of Fire is located in the 120 hectares of Vigor Archaeological Zone, about 10 kilometers north of Alambidgor, within the 120 hectares of Vigor Archaeological Zone, near the Kashan city in central Iran. This site has been continuously resided or used from the pre-Islamic period until the early Islamic century.
According to Mosen Habari, an Iranian archaeologist who led the original excavation, the central part of the Sassanid Fire Temple was still relatively unearthed by its bedding fireplace. He said the evidence pointed out that religious centers existed in the Sassanid period region.
The Sassanid dynasty ruled Persia from 224 to 651 ce, a period characterized by cultural, artistic and architectural development. Scholars describe this era as a renaissance of Iranian civilization, demonstrating advances in urban planning, metalworking, and translation of state support to Pahlavi of foreign texts.
Javari’s excavation team included experts from universities in Isfahan, Tehran and Kashan who began archaeological work at Vigol in 2005. The site is considered one of the few examples of religious architecture in Sassanid in the region.
In 2018, UNESCO designated the Sassanid Archaeological Landscape of the Faz Region in southern Iran as a World Heritage Site, recognising the impact of Sassanid architecture on subsequent Islamic construction. The list includes fortified structures, palaces and urban planning in areas such as Firuzabad and Sarvestan.
The Sassanid dynasty ended in the mid-7th century, following the Arab conquest. Zoroastrians, a religion of the nation under Sassanid rule, gradually gave way to Islam, but artifacts like Vigor continue to shed light on the cultural and religious landscapes of the era.
morning