TEHRAN -- Director of the team, which has carried out the restoration of the Cyrus Tomb, explained the process of the project.

“As the roof of the tomb has been insulated, the restoration project is being completed and this winter the tomb will not need the scaffolds and covering,” Hassan Rahsaz told the Persian service CHN on Saturday.
He said that the project began in 2001 with study and documentation of all 180 megaliths used in the construction of the monument.
For the first time, each individual megalith from the tomb was documented in a plan designed by the team.
A 120-page report comprising information obtained by photogrammetry -- the science of making surveys and maps through the use of photographs, especially aerial photographs -- was prepared and the project became operational in 2006.
“In 2006, the mortar used by the late Ali Sami in the restoration of the tomb in 1951 was removed from the gaps between the stones of the ceiling,” Rahsaz said.
“Nine megaliths from the ceiling that had been dislocated as a result of the removal of the mortar and metal braces, were returned to their original positions and the gaps in between the stones were filled in using a mixture of sand and lime,” he stated.
Afterwards, the megaliths were secured by techniques based on the same methods of bracing as used by the Achaemenids in building the monument. The braces have been covered by molten lead, he explained
“In early 2008, we replaced some dilapidated stones from the roof using stone from a quarry in the Sivand region, which had been utilized by the Achaemenids in the original construction of the tomb,” Rahsaz said.
“For the first time in Iran, epoxy resin has been used to fasten the new pieces of stone to the old ones. The resin, which transforms into stone after it cures, works like an extremely powerful glue.”
“To insulate the roof of the tomb, we have also used acrylic resin paraloid B72, a general-purpose thermoplastic acrylic resin, which was successfully tested during the recent rainfall.
“This restoration is an example of one of the best projects to be carried out on a stone monument. This is the first time in Iran that we actually have a certificate for each of the megaliths in the monument.”
The two experts from the Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Organization who recently said that the authentic character of the tomb of Cyrus the Great has been seriously compromised by the restorations, were described as not being experts in the field.
They said that a portion of a stone piece in the ceiling of the tomb have been cut and replaced with another piece.
Meanwhile, Parsa and Pasargadae Research Foundation Director Mohammad-Hassan Talebian, which is responsible for all restoration and study projects at the ancient site, said that the restoration is one the best of its kind to be carried out in Iran.
Located in Iran’s southern province of Fars, the Tomb of Cyrus the Great is one of the main historical sites of Pasargadae, which was registered on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2004.
Photo: The tomb of Cyrus the Great is seen scaffolded for a restoration project in a photo taken on November 15, 2008. (Mehr/Mohammad-Hossein Nikupur)