TEHRAN—An archaeological team in northern Iran has collected survey samples from the Sepahbod-Khorshid Cave, whose arched entrance is one of the largest of its kind in the world.

“It is the first time that Sepahbod-Khorshid undergoes excavation,” Mazandaran province’s deputy tourism chief said on Wednesday.

So far, the cave’s entrance and parts of its [inner] structure have been subject to excavations,  Mohsen Bastani said.

Apart from the cave, six other archaeological sites across the province underwent archaeological work during the first half of the [current Iranian calendar] year (started on March 21), the official said.

Authorized by the Research Institute of Cultural Heritage and Tourism, the excavation served as a prerequisite for a subsequent restoration project intended to help safeguard treasured elements of the cave. “To undertake restoration, it is necessary to first excavate to provide enough spaces for restorers. We should start that to see what architectural phenomena and plans we are facing in the vast cave,” a local official explained earlier this year.

Measuring 80 by 100 meters, the cave’s rounded entrance is said to be the largest natural one in the world.

Situated in Savadkuh highlands, the cave was used as a shelter by Khorshid (“The sun”), the last ruler of Tabarestan, then surrounded by Arab invaders for several months and seized after poisoning its drinking water supply.

Narratives say the cave was the latest Persian stronghold against the Arab conquerors.

Access to the cave needs climbing gear and also expertise in alpinism. On the left side of the cave, a four-story-high castle was built; made of stones and mortar, it is the masterpiece of architecture of its time. On the right side, numerous trenches and defensive buildings were built, all of which remained firm and intact after centuries.

These two parts were connected through a road made of stones and mortar. Two meters wide, this road was built 50 meters above ground level. Today, only traces of it remain. The remains of a cistern, several silos, and numerous defensive monuments are located outside the cave.

Sandwiched between the towering Alborz mountain range and the Caspian Sea, Mazandaran has a rich yet turbulent history. An early civilization flourished at the beginning of the first millennium BC in Mazandaran (Tabarestan).

Its insecure eastern and southeastern borders were crossed by Mongol invaders in the 13th and 14th centuries. Cossacks attacked the region in 1668 but were repulsed. It was ceded to the Russian Empire by a treaty in 1723, but the Russians were never secure in their occupation. The area was restored to Iran under the Qajar dynasty.

AFM