Achaemenid Irrigation Channel Discovered Near Persepolis

Tehran, 25 May 2006 (CHN) -- Archaeological excavations and geophysical studies by the joint Iranian-French team in Fars province led to unearthing of an irrigation channel belonging to the Achaemenid era (648-330 BC) in an area between Persepolis and the city of Estakhr (pool) in Fars province.
“The remains of an irrigation channel belonging to the Achaemenid era have been discovered in the northern part of Persepolis which according to geophysical studies must have continued to the Estakhr city. Archaeological evidence shows that this channel was constructed using natural elements. However, in some parts the channel was blocked by hard cliffs but the people of the time scraped the stone and by using rubbles they constructed the path of the channel to direct the water of Polvar (Sivand) River to Marvdasht Plain where the ancient palace of Persepolis is located,” said Mohammad Feizkhah, Iranian head of Iranian-French archaeology team in Marvdasht, Fars province.
Last year the remains of another irrigation channel had been discovered in Persepolis which was used to collect water in the palace. However, this new discovered channel is longer than the previous one. “This channel is 4 kilometers in length and is considered a long channel considering the time during which it was constructed and the limited facilities that were available at that time. The channel started from Polvar River with a steep slope and the closer it got to Persepolis, the less steep it became which indicates that the purpose of its constructors was to speed up the transferring of water to Persepolis during that time,” added Feizkhah.
Archaeological excavations in Marvdasht Plain in Fars province are currently being carried out by a joint Iranian-French team. Moreover, a geophysical map is being prepared by experts which would help the archaeologists to get more familiar with the area near Persepolis. Last year this team succeeded in discovering some residential settlement areas belonging to the Achaemenid era in this region. Discovery of a big dam belonging to the same period was one of the other prominent accomplishments of this team of archaeologists and experts in this historical area.