Qadamgah ( Persian: قدمگاه) or Chasht-Khor (چاشت خور) is an

Achaemenid The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest emp ...

rock-cut monument at the southeastern part of the Kuh-e Rahmat mountain in Fars Province of

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...

, about 40 km south of

Persepolis , native_name_lang = , alternate_name = , image = Gate of All Nations, Persepolis.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = Ruins of the Gate of All Nations, Persepolis. , map = , map_type ...

. It consists of three platforms with rear walls and staircases, and features cavities on the back wall and a now-dry spring and pond at the bottom. Its function has been a matter of debate, with latest research pointing to a religious function related to the holy element

Water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as ...

Name

''Qadamgah'', also transliterated as ''Kadam Gah'' ( fa, قدمگاه ''Qadamgāh'', ), is the modern Persian word for "footprint". Another local name is ''Qadamgāh-e Ali'' (, literally "the footprint of

Ali ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam ...

"). The structure is also called ''Īvān-e Qadmgāh'' (, literally "the

iwan An iwan ( fa, ایوان , ar, إيوان , also spelled ivan) is a rectangular hall or space, usually vaulted, walled on three sides, with one end entirely open. The formal gateway to the iwan is called , a Persian term for a portal projectin ...

of Qadamgah"). Another name is ''Chāsht-Khār'' ( or ), or ''Chāsht-Khor'' ( or ), which is also the name of the village nearby.

Studies, description, and function

The monument was first discovered by Capt. H. L. Wells (from the Royal Engineers) in 1881 who published a drawing of the plan and section of it, but did not describe it. The structure and its purpose was later discussed by Forsat-od-Dowleh (1854–1920), Louis Vanden Berghe (1954), Giorgio Gullini (1964), Mohammad Taqi Mostafavi (1964), Calmeyer (1975),

Rémy Boucharlat Rémy (; pcd, R’my) is a commune in the department of Pas-de-Calais in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography Rémy lies in the valley of the river Sensée, some southeast of Arras, on the D9 road. Population Places of interes ...

(1979), Kleiss (1993), and Jean-Claude Bessac (2007). Qadamgah mortise (3746636089)

The structure has been built by cutting two deep terraces vertically from the top of the rocky

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms wh ...

slope, forming three superimposed platforms with vertical rear walls. The monument lacks any built structures. Underneath the lower terrace there has been a now-dry spring feeding a pool which overlooked the monument. The terraces are wide. The lower terrace is above the ground. The upper terrace, which is higher, is linked to the lower one by two rock-cut staircases on the sides. Three rows of five shallow cavities have been cut in rectangular form into the back wall above the upper terrace. Several shallow, hemispherical holes are also cut along the edge of the upper terrace. The structure dates back to the

or post-Achaemenid period. Several hypotheses have been proposed for its function, including an unfinished Royal tomb (it is compared to the two tombs near Persepolis; the construction would have been abandoned like the so-called "unfinished tomb of Darius III" at Persepolis South), a funerary function (with the cavities functioning as a place for bones (''astōdān'')), or a cultural function. Later observations suggest the work was finished, and the cavities were likely covered with hypothetical stone slabs (which may have contained inscriptions or reliefs for aesthetic purposes). Latest research by Jean-Claude Bessac favors a "cultic function related to water" (''

Aban Apas (, ae, āpas) is the Avestan language term for "the waters", which, in its innumerable aggregate states, is represented by the Apas, the hypostases of the waters. ''Āb'' (plural ''Ābān'') is the Middle Persian-language form. Introducti ...

'') and the presence of the spring and the pool, and dismisses the funerary function. This would make Qadamgah a unique Achaemenid cultic place known to the date. There are also cuneiform clay-tablets in the

Persepolis Administrative Archives The Persepolis Fortification Archive and Persepolis Treasury Archive are two groups of clay administrative archives — sets of records physically stored together – found in Persepolis dating to the Achaemenid Persian Empire. The discov ...

with possible references to this site."بررسی محوطه هخامنشی قدمگاه ارسنجان (فارس) و مقایسه آن محوطه های همزمان همان منطقه"
, thesis The monument is fragile and is slowly decaying. The only published drawing of the plan and section of the monument is that of H. L. Wells. Rémy Boucharlat in ''

Encyclopædia Iranica ''Encyclopædia Iranica'' is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English language encyclopedia about the history, culture, and civilization of Iranian peoples from prehistory to modern times. Scope The ''Encycl ...

'' advises "a complete and careful survey ... and some excavation at its foot".

References

{{Reflist, 30em 1881 archaeological discoveries Achaemenid architecture Archaeological sites in Iran Archaeology of the Achaemenid Empire Buildings and structures in Fars Province Tourist attractions in Fars Province Burial monuments and structures Religious places Religious buildings and structures in Iran Water and religion Zoroastrianism 1881 in Iran

Name

Studies, description, and function

See also

References