TEHRAN – The ruined Sassanid-era (224 CE–651) fortress of Qaleh Kohneh (Old Fortress) in Meshkinshahr county, northwestern Ardebil province, will be revived, CHTN reported.

The fortress is planned to be recreated identical to its original structure by the cultural heritage experts, archeologists, and restorers, provincial tourism chief Nader Fallahi said on Sunday.

Preserving the originality of the historical structure is the most important priority of the project, the official added.

He also noted that a tourism park is also planned to be constructed near the fortress to make the complex a tourism hub in the region.

The fortress bears a sole inscription inscribed in the Sassanid Pahlavi script, which shows the importance of this fort and its strategic location.

The ancient fortress was inscribed on the National Heritage list in 1966.

From ancient to modern times, defensive walls have often been necessary for cities to survive in an ever-changing world of invasion and conquest.

Fortresses were designed primarily to defend territories in warfare and were also used to solidify rule in a region during peacetime.

Many of the fortifications of the ancient world were built with mud brick, often leaving them no more than mounds of dirt for today’s archaeologists.

The Sassanid era is of very high importance in the history of Iran. Under Sassanids, Persian art and architecture experienced a general renaissance. 

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.

ABU/MG