TEHRAN -- Experts say that Zoroaster’s Kaba at the Achaemenid site of Naqsh-e Rustam in Fars Province will collapse in less than ten years if the railroad currently under construction near the monuments becomes operational.

“The powerful jolts caused by trains will devastate the unique Achaemenid monument in a short time, maybe less than ten years,” an expert of the Parseh and Pasargadae Research Foundation, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Persian service of CHN on Wednesday.

A five-meter high embankment spoiling the landscape of Naqsh-e Rustam has been made for the railway track about 350 meters from the monument. In addition, the rumbling of the trains will damage the monument in the future.

The embankments for the railway track have been completed from Shiraz to Hajiabad village and from Isfahan to Marvdasht, although the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization never approved any map for the construction of the railroad.

Experts have said the best solution is that the railroad should be graded to five meters deep below ground level beside the transit road, which is located at an appropriate distance from Naqsh-e Rustam.

The project also threatens the Sassanid era bas-reliefs depicting king Shapur I’s triumph over the Roman emperor Valerian.

In addition, experts believe that the construction of the railroad near the monuments of Naqsh-e Rustam in Fars Province will cause Persepolis to be added to the UNESCO List of World Heritage in Danger.

What was the Zoroaster’s Kaba?

There are various theories on the original purpose of Zoroaster’s Kaba. Some experts believe that the monument was the home of a complete copy of the Avesta which had been written on 12,000 leather parchments. Some Orientalists also believe that Zoroaster’s Kaba was a place where the Zoroastrians’ sacred fire was kept burning eternally.

A number of other researchers say that the monument is the tomb of Smerdis, the son of Cyrus the Great, who was murdered by his brother Cambyses (king of Persia 529–522 BC).

Some archaeologists also believe that it was used as an ancient government archive.

Last year, Iranian archaeologist Reza Moradi Ghiasabadi rejected this theory and described the monument as the world’s most unique calendrical and astronomical building.

“At the end of Shahrivar (the sixth month of the Iranian calendar, August 23-September 22) we can determine exactly the day of the month by the light shed by the sun on Zoroaster’s Kaba. It has been used for daily needs, determining the time of cultivating crops, and collecting taxes,” he explained.

Zoroaster’s Kaba bears a Sassanid era inscription explaining the historical events during the reign of the Sassanid king Shapur I (241-272 CE).

The trilingual inscription, written in the Sassanid and Parthian dialects of Middle Persian and ancient Greek, describes the war between Persia and Rome in which Shapur I defeated Valerian, who was captured in 260 and died in captivity.