The Staircase of the Red Dome Unearthed in Hamadan

Tehran, 9 March 2006 (CHN) – Restoration and reconstruction works in Red Dome historical tower led to discovery of two rows of the staircase which was buried for years. “Two rows of Red Dome staircase which are 2 meters in height and 40 centimeters in width were unearthed during the excavations,” said Naser Zavari, head of the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization of Maragheh.
Red Dome, located in southwest of Maragheh city in Hamadan province, is the most ancient tomb in northwest of Iran constructed in 592 AH by the order of Abdolaziz, Azarbaijan’s governor. For the first time a combination of brick and tile-mosaic were used in the construction of this historical tower and therefore it is known as the start of Razi architectural style.
“The embellishment and reconstruction of the dome’s area started 5 years ago and last year with the cooperation of Maragheh municipality the lands in the vicinity of the dome were registered for the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization of Maragheh city to enlarge the area,” added Zavari.
According to Zavari, the restoration of some worn out interior parts of the dome has been started. He also explained about the construction of a vertical sun clock in the Red Dome area, “this unique clock in Iran, constructed by the cooperation of the physics and astronomy center of Maragheh and cultural department of France Embassy in Iran, is the third biggest vertical sun clock in the world after Paris’s sun clock and the sun clock of Egypt’s president house,” said Zavari.
He expressed hope that with allotting enough budgets to this project, this historical monument will be ready for public visit by next year.
Red Dome is a squared building consisted of a catacomb and a main room on a stone raised platform which is accessible by seven stairs. Five stairs of this building are in front of the raised platform and the sixth and seventh stairs are in the portal. The catacomb is located on the center of the raised platform and is accessible through the eastern part.