Zagros Archaeological Researches

Zagros Archaeological Researches

A short report on water structures of Tang-e Veraz/Goraz (Kohdasht County, Lorestan province)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
1 Assistant Professor, Department of Archaeology, Lorestan University, Khoramabad, Iran
2 Senior expert of Lorestan cultural heritage, Khoramabad, Iran.
Abstract
Information about the infrastructures and water structures of the Historical period in the Lorestan region is very limited and incomplete. So far, there has not been much research and archeological study about such structures in Lorestan. This research will introduce a series of new-found water structures in the Kohdasht district in Lorestan province. This complex is located in the village of Rashid Abad/Tang-e Veraz northeast of Kohdasht plain and includes a dam, channels, ponds and a mill. The introduction and study of these structures will help to increase our knowledge of the development of water agriculture and its requirements in the highlands of central Zagros. In this essay, along with the introduction of Tang-e Veraz water structures, based on the archaeological evidence from field visits, the chronology and function of these structures will be analyzed. The main question of the research is: What period do the water structures of Tange-e Veraz belong to? What has been the function of the Tang-e Veraz water structures? The findings have been collected through field visits and analyzed with a comparative approach. During the field visits to Veraz Valley, a series of water structures were identified, including a dam, channels, pond, and mill. These structures are formed around a historical area, much of which is buried under Rashid Abad village. Studying the surface data of the site (pottery and architecture) shows that it belongs to the Sassanid period. The technical principles of construction of the dam are also very similar to the well-known dams of the Sassanid period. Examining the position of the dam and the canals concerning the site shows the continuity and connection of the structures with this historical site in terms of chronology and functionality.

References
Alizadeh, K., Jason, A. Ur. 2007. “Formation and Destruction of Pastoral and Irrigation Landscapes on the Mughan Steppe, North-Western Iran.” Antiquity 81, no. 311: 148–60.
Fattahi M., Sharifi, M. 2021. OSL Dating of Submerged Ancient Jareh Bridge-Dam (South-West of Iran). Iranica Antiqua. Volume: 56. Pp 211-243.
Ghobadyzadeh, H. 1400. Ccultural area of ​​Kohdasht in historical period based on archaeological evidence. Doctoral thesis under the guidance of Kamaluddin Niknami and Abbas Moghadam. Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Literature and Human Sciences, University of Tehran, [No published] (in Persian).
Khadish, P., 2024. “A 7000-Year-Old Water Canal at Tepe Pardis?’’. Ancient Iranian Studies, Vol. 3 (10): 5-34.
Khadish, Pouria (2024). Kanāl-e Ābyāri-ye 7000 Sāleh dar Tapeh Pardis? [A 7000-Year-Old Irrigation Canal at Tapeh Pardis?]. Pazhūheshnāmeh-ye Irān-e Bāstān, Vol. 3, No. 10, pp. 5–35. (in Persian).
Malekzadeh, M.J. 2013.  Gompu: A Neglected and Remote Sasanian Dam: E-Sasanika Archaeological Reports 2013.
Maresca, Giulio. “I ponti di epoca sasanide in Iran nel contesto dei contatti culturali tra la Persia e Roma,” Mantua Humanistic Studies VII. Mantova: Universitas Studiorum. 2019.
Moghaddam, A., 2012. “A note on the Gargar irrigation system”, Iranian Journal of Archaeological Studies 2 (2): 37-49.
Mohammadian, M. 1380. The registration file of Teng-e Deregraz Dam, Lorestan Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Documentation Center [No published] (in Persian).
Mohammadian, Mohammad Reza (2001). Parvandeh-ye Sabti-ye Sad-e Tang-e Dareh-Garāz. Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Documentation Center of Lorestan Province, unpublished report. (in Persian).
Neely, J. A. and H. T. Wright. (1994). Early Settlement and Irrigation on the Deh Luran Plain Village and Early State Societies in Southwestern Iran. University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology Technical Report 26.
Qobādizādeh, Hamzeh (2021). Pahneh-ye Farhangi-ye Kuhdasht dar Dowrān-e Tārikhi bar Asās-e Shavāhed-e Bāstān-shenākhti [The Cultural Landscape of Kuhdasht in the Historical Period Based on Archaeological Evidence]. Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, supervised by Kamāl al-Dīn Niknāmi and Abbas Moghaddam, Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Literature and Human Sciences, University of Tehran. (in Persian).
Stein, S. A., 1940. Old Routes of Western Iran, Macmillan Co. Ltd, London.
Wilkinson, T. J., Boucharlat, R., Ertsen, M. W., Gillmore, G., Kennet, D., Magee, P., Rezakhani, K. De Schacht, T. 2012. ‘From Human Niche Construction to Imperial Power: Long-Term Trends in Ancient Iranian Water Systems’, Water History, 4 (2), 155-176.
Wilkinson, Tony J., 2003. Archaeological Landscapes of the Near East. Tucson: University of Arizona Press.