The sixth chapter of archaeological excavations in the historical area of Bazehour resulted in the discovery of new evidence of a Sassanid period fire temple.
According to Ilna’s report and according to the public relations of the Research Institute of Cultural Heritage and Tourism, Meisam Labaf Khaniki, the head of the Department of Archeology and a member of the academic staff of the Department of Archeology of the University of Tehran, said: The historical area of Bazehour is located 70 km from Mashhad and near the village of Robat Sefid, Razavi Khorasan Razavi province. Since 1393 (2014) it has been the subject of research, speculation, and archaeological exploration, and past research has revealed unknown angles of this important ancient site.
He added that the Bazehour site, spread over 20 hectares, consists of a residential area, a cemetery, and two religious architectural complexes, distinguished by a stone arch on its northern front.
This archeologist noted that this quadrangle was registered as the first registered structure of Khorasan in 1310 (1931 AD) under No. 39 in the list of national monuments. The archaeological excavations carried out since 1397 in the southern front of this area led to the identification of the architectural remains of a Sassanid fire temple that was active until the early Islamic era and was finally destroyed after a terrible earthquake.
He said: The past few years’ exploration has shown that this fire temple’s interior is decorated with exquisite stucco, and its central core was made using high-quality brick and plaster materials.
The academic staff member of the Department of Archeology of Tehran University added: In addition to numerous fragments of clay and pieces of plaster with inscriptions in middle Persian, valuable information about the nature of this fire temple and its founders has been made available.
Labaf Khaniki continued: The findings of the latest exploration season show that on the walls of this fire temple, using plaster, scenes from official ceremonies and presumably feasts, hunting, and traditional ceremonies were displayed. Unfortunately, a significant part of them have been damaged or destroyed due to natural events and human interference.
The head of the archeology board said: As a result of the excavations carried out in 6 seasons in the historical area of Bazehour, the details of the main plan of the stone arch and the fire temple of the southern front are fully known, and valuable information about the history and art of Khorasan in the centuries leading to the Islamic era has been obtained.
In the end, member of the Department of Archeology of Tehran University point out: Based on the size of this religious complex, the quality of the construction materials used, the style and decorations of the architecture, the geographical location, and the way of using the architectural spaces, this fire temple is considered to have been the most important fire temple in the cultural area of northeastern Iran, in the Sassanid period, and research is ongoing to identify its exact nature.
