Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System

Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Interactive map of Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System
LocationShushtar County, Khuzestan province, Iran
CriteriaCultural: (i), (ii), (v)
Reference1315
Inscription2009 (33rd Session)
Area240.4 ha (594 acres)
Buffer zone1,572.2 ha (3,885 acres)
Coordinates32°02′39″N 48°51′31″E / 32.0441°N 48.8585°E / 32.0441; 48.8585
Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System is located in Iran
Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System
Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System
Location of Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System in Iran
Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System is located in West and Central Asia
Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System
Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System
Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System (West and Central Asia)

The Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System (Persian: سازه‌های آبی شوشتر) is a complex irrigation system of the island city Shushtar from the Sasanian era. It consists of 13 dams, bridges, canals and structures which work together as a hydraulic system.

Located in Iran's Khuzestan province. It was registered on UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites[1][2][3][4][5] in 2009 and is Iran's 10th cultural heritage site to be registered on the United Nations' list.[1]

This engineering masterpiece is unique both in Iran and in the world. The Sassanids, whose economy was mainly dependent on agriculture, developed extensive irrigation systems in this region.[6]

Infrastructure included water mills, dams, tunnels, and canals. Gargar Bridge-Dam was built on the watermills and waterfalls. Bolayti Canal is situated on the eastern side of the falls, and functions to supply water from behind the bridge-dam's ridge to the east side of the watermills, channeling the water to prevent damage to the mills. Dahaneye Shahr Tunnel (city orifice) is one of the three main tunnels which channel water from behind the Gargar Bridge-Dam into several water mills. The Seh kooreh Canal directs water from behind the bridge-dam to the western side of the complex. In the water mills and waterfalls, we can see a perfect model of haltering to run mills.[1]

The Band-e Kaisar ("Caesar's dam"), an approximately 500-metre (1,600 ft) long Roman weir across the Karun, was the key structure of the complex which, along with the Mizan Dam (Band-e Mizan), retained and diverted river water into irrigation canals in the area.[7] Built by a Roman workforce in the 3rd century AD on Sassanid orders,[8] it was the most eastern Roman bridge or Roman dam[9] and was the first structure in Iran to combine a bridge with a dam.[10]

Parts of the irrigation system are said to originally date to the time of Darius the Great, an Achaemenid ruler. It partly consists of a pair of primary diversion canals in the Karun river, one of which is still in use today. It delivers water to the Shushtar city via a route of supplying tunnels. The area includes Salasel Castle, which is the axis for operation of the hydraulic system. It also consists of a tower for water level measurement, along with bridges, dams, mills, and basins.[1]

It then enters the plain south of the city, where its impact includes enabling the possibility of local farming and planting of orchards.[1] The area between the diversion canals (Shutayt and Gargar) on the Karun River is called Mianâb, an island with Shushtar city at its northern end.[11]

The site has been referred to as "a masterpiece of creative genius" by UNESCO.[12]

Sites

Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System is a complex of dams, bridges, canals and structures located in 13 different sites which work together as a single hydraulic system.[1][13]

1. Mizan Dam

2. Kolah-Farangi Tower

3. Gargar Canal

4. Gargar Bridge-Dam

5. Watermills and Waterfalls area

6. Borj Ayar Bridge-Dam and Sabein Sanctuary

7. Khoda-Afrain Bridge-Dam

8. Salasel Castle

9. Dariun Canal

10. Shadorvan Bridge-Dam

11. Band-e Khak Dam

12. Lashkar Bridge-Dam

13. Sharabdar Dam

Location of the 13 sites of Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System". UNESCO - World Heritage Convention. 2009.
  2. ^ "Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System". International Commission on Irrigation & Drainage (ICID). 2022.
  3. ^ "Shushtar Hydraulic System: a living testament to ancient water engineering in Iran". Tehran Times. 25 June 2024.
  4. ^ "Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System". Iran Traveling Center.
  5. ^ "Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System: The Ancient Masterpiece of Water Engineering". Molook.
  6. ^ "Shushtar". Following Hadrian Photography. 24 October 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  7. ^ For the irrigation canals' length see Hodge (1992), p. 85 and Hodge (2000), pp. 337 f.; for the extension of the irrigation system see O'Connor (1993), p. 130 n. E42.
  8. ^ Smith (1971), pp. 56–61; Schnitter (1978), p. 32; Kleiss (1983), p. 106; Vogel (1987), p. 50; Hartung & Kuros (1987), p. 232; Hodge (1992), p. 85; O'Connor (1993), p. 130 n. E42; Huff & Kleiss (2015); Kramers (1997), p. 512.
  9. ^ Schnitter (1978), p. 28, fig. 7.
  10. ^ Vogel (1987), p. 50.
  11. ^ Edmonds, Cecil J. (2010). East and West of Zagros. Brill. p. 157. ISBN 9789004173446.
  12. ^ Check out 13 emerging wonders of the world, msn news, Retrieved on 1 May 2010.
  13. ^ "Shushtar Hydraulic System (Iran)". Archived from the original on 10 February 2017.

Sources

  • Hartung, Fritz; Kuros, Gh. R. (1987). "Historische Talsperren im Iran". In Garbrecht, Günther (ed.). Historische Talsperren (in German). Vol. 1. Stuttgart: Verlag Konrad Wittwer. pp. 221–74. ISBN 9783879191451.
  • Hodge, A. Trevor (1992). Roman Aqueducts & Water Supply. Duckworth. ISBN 0715621947.
  • Hodge, A. Trevor (2000). "Reservoirs and Dams". In Wikander, Örjan (ed.). Handbook of Ancient Water Technology. Technology and Change in History. Vol. 2. Brill. pp. 331–9. ISBN 90-04-11123-9.
  • Huff, Dietrich; Kleiss, Wolfram (2015) [1989]. "Bridges. Pre-Islamic Bridges". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica (Online ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation.
  • Kleiss, Wolfram (1983). "Brückenkonstruktionen in Iran". Architectura. 13: 105–112.
  • Kramers, Johannes H. (1997). "Shushtar". In Bosworth, C. Edmund; van Donzel, Emeri; Heinrichs, Wolfhart P.; Lecomte, E.J. (eds.). The Encyclopaedia of Islam. Vol. IX (San-Sze) (New ed.). Brill. ISBN 9789004104228.
  • O'Connor, Colin (1993). Roman Bridges. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521393263.
  • Schnitter, Niklaus (1978). "Römische Talsperren". Antike Welt (in German). 8 (2): 25–32.
  • Smith, Norman (1971). A History of Dams. Citadel Press. ISBN 9780432150900.
  • Vogel, Alexius (1987). "Die historische Entwicklung der Gewichtsmauer". In Garbrecht, Günther (ed.). Historische Talsperren (in German). Vol. 1. Stuttgart: Verlag Konrad Wittwer. pp. 47–56. ISBN 9783879191451.
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