TEHRAN – Cracks, which are visible on the exterior and interior sides of Gonbad-e Kavus, are dormant and quite old, the director of the World Heritage site has said.

Cracks that exist on the inside and outside of the tower are not a new problem. In fact, they were visible when the monument was due to gain UNESCO status, Abdolmajid Nourtaghani said on Tuesday.

His comments came days after some Internet users expressed worries over the fate of the UNESCO-registered monument concerning the cracks and lamented the way that the 1,000-year-old tower is treated.

“Field investigations indicate those cracks are not active.”

“The official said a detailed examination should be carried out to detect reasons behind the cracks and formulate solutions… Because any decision regarding possible great risks requires a deep structural study.”

Located in Golestan province, the monument is of high architectural importance as an exemplar and innovative design of early Islamic-era architecture.

Elsewhere in his remarks, he said the tower has withstood some magnitude 6 earthquakes.

“This building enjoys a traditional structure that has survived at least three earthquakes above six on the Richter scale in the last century, earthquakes that caused a lot of damage to other buildings in the city of Gonbad-e Kavus at that time.”

Visible from great distances in the surrounding lowlands near the ancient Ziyarid capital, Jorjan, the 53-meter high Gonbad-e Qabus dominates a modern town of the same name laid out around its base in the early 20th century.

Its hollow, cylindrical shaft of unglazed fired brick tapers up from an intricate geometric plan in the form of a ten-pointed star to a conical roof. Two encircling kufic inscriptions commemorate Qabus Ibn Voshmgir, Ziyarid ruler as its founder in 1006 CE.

As mentioned by UNESCO, the monument bears testimony to the cultural exchange between Central Asian nomads and the ancient civilization of Iran.

Narratives say the tower has influenced various subsequent designers of tomb towers and other cylindrical commemorative structures both in the region and beyond. The structure capped by an eye-catching conical roof boasts intricate geometric principles and patterns that embellish parts of its load-bearing brickwork.

AFM