The Sasanian Fire Temple of Gach Dawar in Western Iran: New Evidence

Iran Journal of the British Institute of Persian Studies ISSN: 0578-6967 (Print) 2396-9202 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rirn20 The Sasanian Fire Temple of Gach Dawar in Western Iran: New Evidence Yousef Moradi & Edward J. Keall To cite this article: Yousef Moradi & Edward J. Keall (2019): The Sasanian Fire Temple of Gach Dawar in Western Iran: New Evidence, Iran, DOI: 10.1080/05786967.2019.1566761 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/05786967.2019.1566761 Published online: 20 Jan 2019. Submit your article to this journal View Crossmark data Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=rirn20 IRAN https://doi.org/10.1080/05786967.2019.1566761 The Sasanian Fire Temple of Gach Dawar in Western Iran: New Evidence Yousef Moradia and Edward J. Keallb aThe Iranian Center for Archaeological Research, Tehran, Iran; bRoyal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada ABSTRACT KEYWORDS In 1978 a Canadian archaeological mission conducted one season of excavation at the fire temple of Gach Dawar; fire temple; Gach Dawar with the main focus of the operation on four ancillary rooms added to the exterior of Sasanian; chronology; the main Chahar Taq. The programme was terminated in 1979 by the onset of the Iranian function revolution. The new excavation in 2007 re-examined the rooms originally exposed by the Canadian mission, as well as working in the heart of the Chahar Taq and other adjacent rooms. The discovery of a number of cult installations within the Chahar Taq explicitly indicates that the building was designed as a fire temple. The structural layout and the pottery recovered from the building imply an original construction dating to Sasanian times, four building phases identified. The presence of the Islamic material excavated can be explained as reuse of the building in subsequent periods. I. Introduction suggestion that they were parts of a Chahar Taq. The The fire temple of Gach Dawar1 is located some 15 km decision was made to conduct a controlled excavation. away from the High Way connecting the Iranian plateau The main focus of the operation was concentrated in to Mesopotamia, in the district of Dalaho in the province four rooms (Rooms S.K.2, S.K.3, S.K.11, S.K.12) added of Kermanshah, western Iran (Figure 1). The initial dis- to the exterior of the main Chahar Taq (Figure 2). At covery of the building remains of Gach Dawar was the time of the publications of this work, the presence entirely accidental and unexpected. In the mid-1970s a of Islamic period pottery and a great deal of ash in Canadian archaeological mission was conducting an these rooms led to the conclusion that they were work- investigation of the extensive remains that were being shops dated to the early Islamic period and added on interpreted as the stronghold of a Parthian warlord.2 the outside of a derelict Chahar Taq.3 The programme An expedition compound was built in order to house was terminated in 1979 by the onset of the Iranian the expedition members and provide storage and work revolution. space to study the material recovered over the course With the break out of Iran-Iraq war in 1980, the fields of the excavations. The dig house was built using the around the Chahar Taq were bulldozed for use by the Ira- local tradition, which involved walls constructed with nian military. Some bulldozed debris was piled on top of roughly hewn filed stone. In many parts of the area col- the previously exposed archaeological remains. With the lapsed walls were an impediment to ploughing. Farmers termination of the hostilities, when the military left the were in the habit of piling loose stone in a heap in one region, the flat area around the Chahar Taq became an part of the field. One of these local farmers, Dawar Kar- attractive place for the villagers of old Zardeh to build amkhani, generously offered exploitation of one such pile new homes. Gradually these structures started to encroach of field stone for the purpose of the Canadian mission’s upon the archaeological site of Gach Dawar. This thread building programme. When the top stones were led to the decision by the authorities of the Iranian Cul- removed, the traces of three masonry piers were revealed. tural Heritage Organization and Tourism (ICHOT) to Their positioning and L-shape immediately led to the conduct a rescue operation. The new excavation in 2007 CONTACT Yousef Moradi [email protected] The Iranian Center for Archaeological Research, Tehran, Iran 1When fire temple was first exposed in 1978 and the excavations described (Keall), the building complex was assigned a site name in honour of the local land- owner (Dawar Karamkhani) who had generously offered the stones in his field for construction of the Canadian Mission compound wall. The original published name was “Kala Dawar”, using the Kurdish version of Qal’eh (Castle) to distinguish it from the Upper Castle of Qaleh-i Yazdigird. But since there is a tendency for Iranians to use the Persian version of the man’s name (= Davar), it has resulted in an awkward hybrid Persian-Kurdish term. Many visible parts of the ruined stronghold do have legendary names associated with them (e.g. Shah Neshin), but indiscriminate piles of stones and stubs of walling are generically called “Gach” (gypsum) – hence the new site label of “Gach Dawar”. 2Keall (2008, 824; 1994, 258; 1983, 44). 3Keall (1979, 158); Keall and Keall (1981, 33–34). © 2019 British Institute of Persian Studies 2 Y. MORADI AND E. J. KEALL Figure 1. The location of the fire temple of Gach Dawar (Drawing by R. Yashmi). re-examined the rooms S.K.2, S.K.3, S.K.11, S.K.12 orig- of gypsum mortar. A relatively flat side was chosen for inally exposed by the Canadian mission, as well as working each stone at the face of the wall. The core of the wall in the heart of the Chahar Taq (S.K. 13) and its surround- was an irregular pack of smaller stones. No horizontal ing corridor (S.K. 7, 8, 14, 15), and other adjacent rooms layering in the masonry was discerned, but some vertical including rooms 9 and 16–22 (Figures 3–7). The discovery joints were documented in room 18. In the ancillary of a number of cult installations within the Chahar Taq rooms on the north side of the Chahar Taq some explicitly indicates that the building was designed as a baked bricks were used, presumably recycled for expe- fire temple. The structural layout and the pottery recov- diency. The finished wall surface was comprised of a ered from the building imply an original construction dat- thin layer of smooth gypsum plaster laid over a thick, ing to Sasanian times, four building phases identified. The rough base coat (approximately 10 cm thick). Numerous presence of the Islamic material excavated can be layers of thin finishing coats were documented, indicat- explained as reuse of the building in subsequent periods. ing successive repairs. Floors II. Building Remains The base layers of the floors were comprised of thick Wall Construction bands of dirt – for levelling purposes – covered by a The walls and piers of the exposed building were con- thin layer of gypsum mortar, onto which cobble stones structed out of rubble stone masonry comprised mostly were randomly set. The stones were then buried by a of undressed field stone embedded in generous quantities thick screed of gypsum mortar poured in separate IRAN 3 Figure 2. Plan of the fire temple of Gach Dawar, as excavated, 1978 (Keall 1967, fig. 8). batches. The joins between each batch were covered by the roofs was flat, made of mud poured over the brick the finishing coat of plaster. As with the walls, numerous vaults. The same principle can apply in the case of finishing coats indicate re-plastering repairs. entrance hall 19, fronted by two masonry piers that flank a wide entrance way, though a flat wooden roof cannot be discounted. Since that would imply a different fi Roofs roo ng system, it might be reasonable to postulate that a barrel vault was carried over arches on the open side of fi On the analogy with other better preserved re temples, the hall. Unfortunately, there is no tangible evidence to one may assume that the Chahar Taq chamber was once indicate how the cruciform room 3 was roofed. One cer- roofed with a dome, and the circumambulatory corridor tainly cannot rule out entirely the idea of a domed roof. with barrel vaults. The presence of a fragment of fallen brick roof vaulting in room 16 suggests the possibility Layout and Building Phases that the ancillary rooms were also brick vaulted. How- ever, the discovery of a stone roof roller in the debris out- As already mentioned above, the building complex of side of the building4 may indicate that the top surface of Gach Dawar was constructed in different stages. This is 4Keall and Keall (1981, 34); Keall (1982, 59). 4 Y. MORADI AND E. J. KEALL Figure 3. Plan of the fire temple of Gach Dawar (Phase I), as excavated, 2007. evidenced in places where walls are bonded or not. But, Phase IB. The explanation for the higher floor level while the sequence of the building activity can be deter- stems from the fact that the surface water run-off from mined, it is exceedingly difficult to judge the amount of the nearby cliffs resulted in the accumulation of sedi- time that separates these construction activities, whether ments against walls of the building.

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