TEHRAN – An abandoned fire temple, which is a spiritual, architectural, and cultural heritage dating from the Sassanid era (224–651), will undergo restoration with funding provided by the private sector.

Atashkadeh Pir-e Hamedan, which is an important fire temple in terms of history and architecture, will soon be restored with the support of private investors, Zanjan province’s tourism chief said on Monday.

The fire temple is set to be temporarily ceded to the private investors to receive further care and maintenance, Seyyed Saeid Safavi said.

Located in the Abbar region of Tarom county, the fire temple features a Chahar-Taq, which is an ancient square-shaped brick room surmounted by a domed roof and is an exemplar of fine architecture in the time of Sassanids.

“Undoubtedly, the reconstruction and restoration of historical monuments can attract many tourists to Tarom county,” the official added.

Experts say this architectural form turned into the most typical form of Sassanid religious architecture, relating closely to the expansion and stabilization of Zoroastrianism under the Sassanid reign and continuing during the Islamic era thanks to its usage in religious and holy buildings such as mosques and tombs.

Over the past couple of years, tens of historical places and monuments have been temporarily ceded to the private sector under the supervision of the Revitalization and Utilization Fund for Historical Places. Considering the high number and quantity of historical buildings across the country, the government is unable to restore and revive them all, so private investors are encouraged to participate.

The Fund, which is affiliated with the tourism ministry, is in charge of concession with the aim of historical sites receiving better maintenance by repurposing them into thriving boutique hotels, eco-lodges, traditional restaurants, or other profitable niches.

The country boasts hundreds of historical sites such as bazaars, museums, mosques, bridges, bathhouses, madrasas, mausoleums, churches, towers, and mansions, of which 26 are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

A peek into Persia’s arts and architecture under Sassanids

The Sassanid era (224 CE–651) is of very high importance in the history of Iran. Under Sassanids, Persian art and architecture experienced a general renaissance. Architecture often took grandiose proportions, such as palaces at Ctesiphon, Firuzabad, and Sarvestan, which are amongst the highlights of the ensemble.

Crafts such as metalwork and gem engraving grew highly sophisticated, yet scholarship was encouraged by the state. In those years, works from both the East and West were translated into Pahlavi, the language of the Sassanians.

Rock-carved sculptures and bas-reliefs on abrupt limestone cliffs are widely deemed as characteristics and striking relics of Sassanian art, top examples of which can be traced at Bishapur, Naqsh-e Rostam and Naqsh-e Rajab in southern Iran.

In 2018, UNESCO added an ensemble of Sassanian historical cities in southern Iran — titled “Sassanid Archaeological Landscape of Fars Region”-- to its World Heritage list. The ensemble comprises eight archaeological sites situated in three geographical parts of Firuzabad, Bishapur, and Sarvestan. It reflects the optimized utilization of natural topography and bears witness to the influence of Achaemenid and Parthian cultural traditions and of Roman art, which later had a significant impact on the architecture and artistic styles of the Islamic era.

The Sassanid archaeological landscape also represents a highly efficient system of land use and strategic utilization of natural topography in the creation of the earliest cultural centers of the Sassanid civilization.

AM