In 1320 (1941), the people of Natanz came across a mystery that they could not solve. A well was dug in a residential house a short distance from “Kooshk Chartaqi” in Natanz city to exploit the underground water. The well digger soon found out that this well leads to an underground passage. His efforts to find the end of this passage got nowhere. They dug another well in the yard of that house, which again led to a corridor with plaster walls. These corridors indicated an underground and secret way. No one knew what the story was and who created this way in what period of history! Did the chartaqi connect to this secret passage? It is a question to which they did not find an answer. They had to cover the wells!
The Kooshk Chartaqi is built in the suburbs of Natanz city, in Isfahan province; right in the middle of an orchard, which is now surrounded by residential houses, making it more or less challenging to see this old structure.
We know Natanz for its numerous orchards and famous for its flowers, plants and tree. Kooshk chartaqi in Natanz has a long history, and its gardens are renowned for their abundant and tall trees. Natanz is an ancient name and is derived from the Avestan language. It means a place with pleasant weather; indeed, it is the right name for this place. The Kooshk chartaqi of Natanz was built during the Sasanian era, and more than two thousand years have passed since its construction. This structure is built on a 2m high platform. The entire holy structure and its annexes is more than 120 m wide. This part is parallel with residence houses. The northern side of the chartaqi leads to agricultural lands and orchards. Unfortunately, the privacy of chartaqi was not respected in the construction of those houses. The northern part of chartaqi leads to the agricultural land and garden.
Paintings have been found under a layer of straw and clay covering the structure. These paintings are believed to date back to the period when the chartaqi had lost its religious use. The fact that it has been heard that there were tombstones inside the quadrangle, which were destroyed, strengthens the suspicion that the chartaqi of Kooshk was a place for burying the dead in the middle centuries of Iran’s history and was used for other purposes.
Crushed stone, plaster mortar, and soil were used to construct the chartaqi. Later, the walls of the structure were covered with plaster. Wooden timber has been used to wrap the structure. Coiling is a method that connects the parts of the structure and plays a vital role in strengthening the building and helps to distribute the force uniformly applied to the structure and prevent part of the structure from collapsing.
The chartaqi of Natanz was registered in 1311 (1932) as one of Iran’s national historical monuments, and its archaeological and architectural value was known decades ago. Sadly, it has not been heard that anything has been done in its maintenance and revitalization or at least in keeping the privacy of the structure away from encroachment and house building.
If we say that Iran’s chartaqi structures have many secrets and the method of their construction has not been thoroughly investigated, and we do not know who supported the construction of these buildings in different parts of Iran, we have not exaggerated. It is not even clear how long in history was this type of architecture used for construction of charetaqi and how much did they impact the construction of other structures in Iran. Therefore, for a more precise knowledge of the chartaqis of Iran extensive research is needs, which will lead to the knowledge and understanding of the different types of architecture, as an important part of our ancient culture.
