Written sources on Iranian pre-modern architecture in Islamic middle ages are  very scarce. The material that is scattered in literary and historic texts is normally limited to monumental architecture, and mostly related to the architectural works and not to the process and the agents. Moreover, there is not much material on people's and vernacular architecture. However, there are surviving documents related to the Iranian's general life and social interactions which are full of architectural information. Over millennia, ordinary people have built thousands of buildings and villages. They also had to make written records for various social matters; especially when religion encouraged them to keep written records: in waqf (Islamic endowment), inheritance and trades. Waqf, inheritance and trade documens are often ignored but information-rich Iranian architecture, especially the people's architecture. Some of these documents, especially the royal and court documents are kept in governmental archives; but thousands of documents are in the possession of individuals, families and sometimes private archives. One example of these is the family documents collection of the Gorgāni (Estarabadi) families. This article is written based on two documents form the Estarabad family collection using the descriptive-analytical method. In this article we introduce two documents, going back to the end of the Qajar era, both of which are related to the construction of baths in two villages of Ganareh and Qoroq, located in Estarabad. Haj Mohammad Mehdi Kabir, one of the important merchants of the city of Estarabad, decided to build baths in two villages which probably belonged to him family in 1916. He employed builders and architects and made a contract with them. The dates of the two documents are one month and five days apart. The document texts and even their paper type are similar. From the handwritings it can be surmised that the scribe is the same for both document. The architect for the Ganareh bath is Ostad Hossein Banna and the architect for the Qoroq is Aqa Seyyed Mohammad Jafar Banna. It is remarkable that both of these architects are from Tehran. The length and remuneration terms for both the contracts are the same. Various parts and space units (compartments) of the bath as well as some of their physical features are mentioned in these documents. Some information can be also inferred with regards to the general composition of the bath spaces. The description of these spaces are nearly similar and have the same dimensions. Like most other historical texts, these documents give more information between their lines. For example, the documents do not give a description of each of the places they name. It is apparent that merely using the name of spaces such as central courtyard or platform was enough to let the patron, the architect and the witnesses know what the description is and how it should look physically. Or for example, there are no mentions of innovations by the architects. It was not the job of the architects to innovate and to use these innovations in constructing baths for fame in Estarabad, Tehran, Iran or the world. Their intention was to serve; their intention was to erect bath houses which were functional for the Qoroq and Ganareh villages to the best of their ability and meet the physical and emotional needs of the people.

Water can be considered to be the reason for existence and the main factor in formation of some of the traditional Iranian architectural structures. Innovative technologies such as [water] mills and water reservoirs etc. can be placed in this category. These structures are the result of the interaction of the previous generations with nature and utilising its various elements. The human of the past has managed to provide one of his main food staples by using water in mills and grinding grains into flour. The mills and other water related structures can be considered as physical manifestations of the interaction between man and nature. Therefore, these structures, as an existing element, possess remarkable physical aspects. The [water] mills in Boshrūyeh are no exception. Examination and studying their physical and functional aspects will result in greater knowledge of this technology. Becoming familiar with these mills can be considered as the first step in their preservation. Introducing these structures can bring about more activity, attention and interest in these structures. As evidence of the ingenuity of the ancients, these structures have values which justifies more detailed study. In fact, by introducing these structures, the human of today will understand the interaction between the ancient man and nature. Examining the studies conducted in this subject shows that the researchers have chosen three study approaches, namely historical, physical and functional. With respect to Boshrūyeh mills there are no detailed studies conducted and only one article has given a brief explanation about the water circulation through these mills and the rest of the explanation is related to the milling profession. The present article examines the mills, including the study of micro spaces, building materials, and their location in the Boshrūyeh region, and tries to gain knowledge in their architecture as well as their technical functions. The primary information is gathered using a literature review and then a field study has been conducted that includes photography, interviewing the millers, and visiting the mills to complete the information gathered. Finally, the gathered data has been assessed using descriptive-analytical approach. To that end, first the location of the mills has been examined, and then the Boshrūyeh qanat has been introduced. The final step is the examination of physical and functional aspects, and the building materials. The findings are that these buildings have a lot of similarity in physical and functional aspects. Physically, all the mills have complementary spaces for the mill and the main spaces are the turret, entrance, corridor and hall. Since the mills all have turrets, their technical functions are also similar. The water enters the turret via the entry channel and after turning the paddles, leaves the mill and enters the next mill. This is repeated seven times. The building materials used for these mills are also very similar. The use of stones, bricks, mud bricks, cob, lime mortar and plaster is seen in all the mills.

Human being has always endeavored to keep a balance between his needs, demands, latent and active facilities in the environment since millennia. Watermill has, as an environmental hydraulic structure, played a vital role in the man’s socio-economic life even in arid areas where it was temporarily constructed for being used in certain seasons and or specific measures were devised to supply water. In the south of Khorasan especially in Birjand where water is noticeably scarce, solid dikes and qanats, that their relics are accessible, were used to satisfy the needs of a developing city through its circulation. The investigations which were carried out in Birjand region revealed that in addition to watermills, some windmills had been around the town. As Birjand has been located in a closed region, a number of its windmills is less than any other areas of Khorasan. Due to a better climate and more accessibility to water in Bāgherān Mountain range in comparison with its neighboring regions, the locals mostly made watermills. Omar Shāh Dike and Band-e Darreh (Dareh Dike) supplied water for a majority of watermills in Birjand. The nearest watermill to the dyke was equipped with an instrument to return water, and other watermills which were in a lower position than the first one regarding height used consecutively used the same water-returning instrument, and there was no need for a new water-returning device. The largest parts of theses watermills have been constructed in the ground, and the light needed for such structure is supplied through the entrance and openings which have been installed in the ceiling. In terms of age, the structures under study like the ones that are in Birjand date back to the Safavid era which their capital was Qahestan Region. From the Qajar period, as this region was across the south-north commercial route, commercial activities have been on upswing. Due to heavy traffic of traders and their needs for necessary materials especially for bread, a large number of watermills have been constructed around Bāgherān Mountain range.
For the same reason, most of these watermills belong to the period mentioned above. The present paper tries to study different aspects of watermills of Birjand through descriptive-analytic method. In doing so, the authors examined the followings issues: architectural points, indoor details, water supply method, dimensions, size and geographical situation. Library studies and field work provided data. The critical question of this research is: “What are the main architectural components of this type of architecture? Is there any variety in architectural components of the watermills?” The studies show these structures are similar in terms of architecture, aqueduct, headrace, wheat mill chamber, its annexes as well as the materials used for their construction. Although there exist some minor changes in some spaces like guard cabinet, storage house concerning area and size which depend on the owner’s budget for the development of such structures.

Rural landscapes are a vital component of the heritage of humanity that contain a complex lattice of tangible and intangible cultural heritage and have a strong connection with their surrounding nature and environment. As a result, they can be named the rural landscapes. Since the living rural landscapes are one of the most common types of cultural landscapes in existence, their conservation is of special importance. Identifying the various dimensions and values of these landscapes can help the betterment of understanding of the adaptation of people to their land and production methods based on the cultural and natural foundations. At a time that we are facing serious challenges in terms of weakening of the cultures, and destruction and exploitation of the natural resources, and the problems of clean water, air, food and healthy products are being raised in scientific communities as serious challenges of the future, it is important to focus on living rural landscapes to upgrade and understand them. Effective support and principled safeguarding of these landscapes and sustainable changes, using the experience at hand and their appropriate transmission to future generations also becomes doubly important. That way, an appropriate balance could be struck between various economic, social, cultural and environmental aspects. As a result, the present document was produced and adopted by ICOMOS-IFLA International Scientific Committee on Cultural Landscapes in the symposium held as part of the 19^th ICOMOS General Assembly in New Delhi in 2019. This document tries to raise awareness on various production methods, via agriculture, animal husbandry and pastoralism, fishing and aquaculture, forestry, wild food gathering, hunting, and extraction of other resources, which are necessary for sustaining human life and to highlight the ever increasing interaction between human and nature which encompasses the technical, scientific and experience based human knowledge. While treating the definitions and necessities in tending to the living rural landscapes, this document explains the threats and challenges that exist in today’s world for rural landscapes which result in their loss and/or abandonment or radical change. Also, the benefits of these landscapes as natural and cultural resources essential for life to be transmitted for future generations is considered. The necessity of sustainable conservation of these landscapes are also treated. This document considers the identification of values and transmission of the accumulated knowledge and cultural meanings to the future generations as the condition for sustainable preservation of these landscapes. Finally some criteria are suggested to achieve this sustainability.

Golestān Palace is the remnant of the historic citadel of Tehran, which dates back to the Safavid period, and the Zandiyeh and Fatḥ-Ali Shah Qajar. But because of extensive repairs by Nasser al-Din Shah in 1905, most of the buildings in this complex are regarded to be from the Nasseri era. Golestān Palace was the residence of the Qajar kings and the country’s administrative heart whose architectural decorations had formed in connection with traditional cultural concepts, as well as a mixture of traditional and western and fully western concepts. To decorate the palaces and government buildings in this era, some religious, national and traditional concepts, such as common tales, were used and building pictorial backgrounds using natural scenery, structures, depicting animals, plants, and inanimate objects became popular. Painting fruit was a new concept which appeared in the Haft Rang [seven colour] tiles used on the outside walls of the Golestān Palace. These tiles were painted with depictions of bunches of flowers, and fruit such as pomegranates, grapes, cucumbers, Persian melons, apples, pears, and watermelons. Given the importance of food among Iranians, the fruit paintings can be considered alongside the cultural and social changes during the Qajar era which have been reflected in travelogues and photographs remaining of that time; foreign tourists have mentioned the welcoming of guests by various types of food and fruit and have described the Iranian food spreads and their culinary traditions. The main question of this research is to do with the method of depicting fruit in the tiles of the Golestān Palace and the general aim of this article is understanding how the cultural evolution and changes in artistic depictions have been reflected in the Qajar era.  This research considers raw food to be a cultural element, and uses a descriptive-analytical approach, gathering information from libraries, making use of photographs, and travelogues related to the Qajar era. The history of depicting fruit in Iranian Architectural ornamentation is considered to go back to the Afshar era and the Indian masons which has remained as expanded decorative paintings. In the painted tiles of the Qajar era, fruit types appeared which have never been used as ornamentation before. For example, apart from the common fruit, vegetables and fruit such as cherries, sour-cherries, and corn were painted on the tiles of the Golestān Palace. The corn with large yellow kernels, and some red cherries have been depicted alongside other fruit. What is remarkable about the depiction of the fruit, is the ornamental arrangement of the fruit with leaves and flowers; most of the fruit are seen as individual or bunches in arrangements that includes a framework of leaves and flowers. The frames are not uniform and sometimes are accompanied by architectural elements such as pillars or sometimes with green vines and trestles of greenery. The fruit are depicted freely using different colour shading, colour bordering using lines, and cross hatching which has been copied form imported post cards and magazine pictures. Plants and fruit have had a legendary, symbolic and ritualistic place in the Iranian psyche since the ancient times; but, in the Qajar era, they have appeared in a realistic style and as one of the main concepts of depictions, rivalling the European still life paintings. The findings in this research show that, although the fruits depictions in the Golestān Palace are a continuation of the previous eras, but the cultural evolution of the Qajar era has had an effect on them and has changed a lot in relation to the Iranian culinary culture.

The tomb of Bodagh Sultan belongs to the Mukrian’s ruler, during the reign of Shah Suleiman the Safavid. It’s a tomb from the Islamic era in West Azerbaijan province, in Mahabad city. This historic building is the family tomb of Bodagh Sultan and other members of the Mukri’s family, who ruled this area for about four centuries. Bodagh Sultan made great efforts to develop his region and participated in forming the Mukrian’s city by constructing commercial and social centers such as: caravanserai, aqueduct, bazaar, mosque, bath and bridge. Bodagh Sultan’s tomb is located in the center of the old cemetery. According to the historical texts, tombstones and citation of trustees and survivors of Mukrian family, this tomb belongs to Bodagh Sultan and it is the place of a number of prominent members of his family who buried here in the Safavid period. Most of the members of this family, from Shah Ismail Safavi to Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar, were governors in Mukrian region. They fought with invaders, and because of popularity of the Sultan and the elders who buried in the tomb, some people of different parts of Kurdistan always visit the tomb. After the fall of Safavid Dynasty, the tomb of Bodagh Sultan damaged a lot, because of insecurities and local disputes. Even though this building was registered as national monuments in Iran, the damages hadn’t been done and tomb had become half destroyed. The north Ivan and the south Ivan were completely destroyed, and heterogeneous repairs and additions were made. Also a humble door was installed to enter the domed nave. The graves’ inscriptions, were also completely destroyed, except the tombstone of Abdullah Khan, the last governor of the family. From 1991 to 1995, according to an approved planning, the cultural heritage department of West Azerbaijan provinc restored this historical monument after doing archeological and architectural researches. At the first step, debris and mass of the shrine grounds on the northern side of the mausoleum removed, with an area of about 42 square meters. After completing the excavations in the destroyed spaces and discovering the foundations and remnants of the walls and part of the arches, niches, walls on both sides of the entrances to the shrine (north Ivan), and the entrance Ivan (south side), the reconstruction map was prepared, under supervision of Dr. Baqir Ayatollahzade Shirazi. In 1992, the reconstruction and completion of the north and south Ivans and the outer body of the tomb continued, and the reconstruction of the side walls, arch and dome, and the architectural elements of both Ivans were completed. Now this building is a symbol of the city and one of the historical and tourist attractions of Mahabad.

Baba-Afzal Kashani tomb is located in the highest point of Margh village western end in Kashan is among Iranian tombs of Mogul era with some attachments of later periods decorated with tile and carved plaster. Baba-Afzal was one of the distinguished philosophers, poets and scientists in second half of 6th century and first half of 7th century. A plaster molded altar and a precious inlaid box on his tombstone as well as several writings are the important traits of his tomb. A large number of its graffiti have been destroyed. The purpose of this research is answering this question: “what is the content of Baba-Afzal Kashani tomb graffiti?” Here I intend to investigate these writings considering their content and language at the aim of recording them. These writing, mostly found at the western side of the tomb today, are exposed to the danger of destruction and a small number of them has been preserved. Therefore, after studying all investigated samples, just a limited number of them whose content, date and handwriting were intact and readable were selected and their photos and content were included in this paper due to their multiplicity (54 samples) and space limitation of this paper. Rest of them has been just named here. The applied methodology was historical-descriptive conducted based on some field studies and written references. The results show that there are some writings with historical, religious, literal, blessing and advising content in Persian. The names of some famous poets such as Saadi, Hafez and Abu-Sa’id Abul-Khayr as well as Arabic traditions, narrations and poems can be seen. The handwritings are mostly Thulth. A number of them describe an incident or pilgrimage trip to Baba-Afzal tomb and only in one of them a picture can be seen. Considering the names, titles, family relations and dates used by the writers of the graffiti, it can be perceived that most visitors of this well-known gnostic were from Kashan and the villages around Margh village such as: Joshaghan, Niasar, Kamo, Bidgol, Vorkan, Ghamsar and Naragh and the names belong to Borujerd, Khoi and Tabriz cities and Mazandaran province. Merchant, grocer, eulogist, preacher, tragedian of passion plays and tiler were among the jobs mentioned in graffiti. Some names such as Abd Al-Azim Joshaghani, Nasrollah the son of Sedgh Agha Esmail Agha Kazem, Seyed Mohamad-Taghi  Attar Neishabouri were written several times. The dates are between 1130-1311AH which shows most visits occurred in 13th century (1208-1299AH), Rabi’ Al-Thani (repeated 6 times), Rajab (repeated 3 times) and Jumada Al-Awwal, Jumada Al-Thani, Rabi’ Al- Awwal (each repeated twice).

Iranian covers have been invented based on the necessities and requirements of their time and have evolved gradually during centuries which has resulted in the creation of different types of them. In general, the covers are divided into two types of flat and curved ones. As a common curved cover in Iran, domes have had great influences not only on the geometric forms of buildings but also on the city perspective. Domes have been used in Iranian architecture more than other elements for their capability of covering a vast area. For the pressure existing among the dome components, any measure including renovation and strengthening must be taken based on the accurate and correct acquaintance with their overall nature and function; therefore, investigating domes and getting familiar with them not only reveals parts of Iranian architecture history but also assists us in proper renovation of these works. Previous researchers have studied and categorized Iranian domes but they have never been categorized extensively according to their shapes, main components and shell numbers. Considering the importance and use of domes in Iranian architecture, this research has been conducted at the aim of reviewing various types of domes and then presenting an extensive categorization based on their geometric forms, components and number of shells. Hence, this is the main question that how many types of Iranian domes there are based on the considered criteria. This research is a practical one and a compound research methodology (historical, descriptive and analytic) has been used to conduct it. The data has been derived from library and field studies (field observations of previous researchers have been used to obtain a comprehensive result.). What distinguishes this research from the previous ones is its variables, the research methodology and samples comprehensiveness. According to the results obtained based on domes shell number, there are 3 main types of dome. Each type in turn includes various sub-categories considering the space between shells, shell form (spherical, conical, combinatorial) and components (beam vault, opium poppy form, fasteners). Single-shell dome has 3 divisions: simple spherical, step-like, beamed domes, conical and domes with cupola. Double-shell domes have 3 main categories which include some sub-categories as well. Integrated spherical dome is the first type of double-shell dome which is the only separated double-shell dome. The second sub-category of double-shell dome is integrated hollow spherical dome which in turn includes simple, box-like, constraint, bladed and beamed forms. The 3th type of double-shell dome is the entirely disunited one which has 3 sub-categories: conical, spherical, combinatorial based on the outer shell form. Spherical dome also has some sub-categories: simple, onion, gothic, beamed, scalloped and zigzag. Double-shell conical dome includes 7 sub-categories: coneshaped, multiply, zigzag, scalloped, step-like, mound dome and combinatorial. For combinatorial dome two types of simple and beamed have been recognized. The last type of dome is 3-shell dome which has two sub-categories of spherical (simple and scalloped) and conical (simple, scalloped and multiply) considering their exterior shells. Totally, 27 types of dome have been recognized and categorized so far. Such form variety is the indicator of not only Iranian creativity but also acquaintance of Iranian master-workmen with the construction techniques and static issues.

Inscribed historical works such as coins, seals, manuscripts, documents, various objects, tombstones and inscriptions are among the most significant and reliable sources of all nations’ culture and history. In the field of Iranian civilization in Islamic era, inscriptions and written sources have always been interesting for the rulers and public. Meanwhile, monuments have been the most important document for determining the architecture history and originality of a building while being exposed to destruction or elimination by conquerors or opponents to the same extent. These valuable research sources are seriously in danger due to several ecological and preserving causes; therefore, it is likely that these sources be destroyed and future generations would not have access to them if they do not be documented. On the other hand, they must be read accurately since misreading may result in incorrect information acquisition. The main issue of this research is text investigation and reviewing the inscription of Agha Bozorg mosque portal in Kashan which was visited in Shahrivar, 1397SH (Sep.2018). Agha Bozorg mosque and school located in the historic area of Kashan, is adjacent to Khajeh Taj Al-Din tomb in a district of the same name, in Agha Bozorg street branched off Fazel Naraghi street. This school mosque is attributed to Mollah Mahdi Naraghi known as Agha Bozorg, one of the great philosophers of Kashan and was built in Mohamad-Shah Qajar era. Haj Mohamad-Taghi Khanban was the founder of this complex who constructed its mosque for public prayer and as a venue for holding debate and training sessions of his son-in-law Mollah Mahdi Naraghi. The project of building the mosque started in 1256AH (1840AD) and finished 8 years later in 1264AH (1848AD) during the early years of Naser Al-Din Shah Qajar’s reign. The dates 1263, 1264, 1268AH (1847, 1848, 1852AD) mentioned on the inscriptions of the dado, the nave (shabistan) platform, the interior space of the nave under the dome, the altar and the portal relate to the time its decoration process ended. Agha Bozorg mosque is one of the monuments with many inscriptions. The text inscribed over the portal is a 24-distich ode written with beautiful white Nastaliq handwriting on an azure tile background. The king’s name of that time (Naser Al-Din Shah), the chronogram, the poet’s nick name (Hasrat), signature (calligrapher = Hosein), the founder’s name Mohamad-Taghi and Mollah Mahdi Naraghi known as Agha Bozorg have been written on this inscription. Its text and the issue if it was read correctly are investigated here. Hasan Naraghi’s book is one of the most important books written about Kashan and its counties. He has tried to mention all inscriptions of the investigated buildings but lack of their photos in this book has made it really difficult to compare what was read by the writer to the original inscription. Through library studies and referring to Naraghi’s book, it is perceived that some distiches of the ode, inscribed on 3 sides of the portal have not been read correctly. Inscriptions are seen as the most significant document of architecture history as well as means of determining the originality of a monument. Hence, through some field studies, the writer concluded that 10 mistakes were made in reading the inscription chronogram of Agha Bozorg mosque portal while writing “The monuments of Kashan and Natanz” book. Some dates have also been read incorrectly. Such mistakes have been corrected in this research according to some field studies and through entering the inscriptions photos into this paper.

The Bāgh-e Fīrūzi area spreads over 130 ha and includes 10 known Achaemenid sites: seven with stone architectural elements, one with baked bricks on the surface, and two corresponding to 3 m-high rounded tepes. Tol-e Ājori is located on the eastern fringe of Bāgh-e Fīrūzi, on a border defined by Bāgh-e Fīrūzi located 300 m to the SE and Tol-e Jangī B located 400 m to the NW. This area was studied and excavated over 8 years. Comprehensive study of Tol-e Ājori, located 3 km west of the Persepolis Terrace, must be approached by taking into account former research on Pārsa. Like various scholars before us, we think that the Bāgh-e Fīrūzi area should be seen as a part of the city linked to the royal residence of Persepolis. Remains of Achaemenid occupation near the village of Fīrūzi have gradually been brought to light by archaeologists surveying the vicinity of the Terrace in the attempt to place it within the perspective of wider town planning. The archaeological excavation results in this part of the city of Pārsa showed that in both historical and functionality sense, the discovered building in Tol-e Ājori in the area known as Bāgh-e Fīrūzi, can go back to the early phases or even before the construction of the Persepolis terrace. The Tol-e Ājori is one of the valuable archaeological finds that fills the gap in the formation of the city of Pārsa before Darius I. Paying attention to the glazed bricks and the figurative imagery of fantastical animals used in this building, the building in Tol-e Ājori goes back to before the construction of Āpādānā in Susa and Persepolis, and it resembles the Ishtar gate in Babylon at the beginning of the sixth century BC. In this regard, the comparison of the construction method; architectural trend; and analytical archaeological information with regards to the construction methods; and identification of the the materials used for glazed bricks from the three areas of Tol-e Ājori, Susa and Babylon will have a critical role in understanding the history and the cultural connections of this era in South- Western Iran. The Tol-e Ājori building and the surrounding structures are located 3.5 kilometres from Persepolis, and they highlight the importance of the cityscape in this part as the oldest urban area within Pārsa. This research is conducted for the first time after new archaeological discoveries by using multidisciplinary research studies of the joint Iranian- Italian archaeological teams in the Pārsa city of Persepolis , and within the framework of the cooperation agreement between University of Bologna, Archaeology Research Centre, cooperation of Cultural Heritage Organisation, Shiraz University, and Persepolis World Heritage site.

“Historical map of Karun river route toward Shushtar and the source of Zayandeh Rud” is among the historical map series of Khuzestan which was prepared and drawn by Abd Al-Ghaffar in Ramadan 25th, 1299AH. This map illustrates Karun River, Zardkuh Mountains, Dez river in Dezful, Kuhrang Mountain, Zayandeh Rud River as well as coal mines, farms and roads of the region. Najm Al-Mulk, the well-known engineer of Qajar era, has professionally implemented the mapping methods of those years to draw this map. In addition to Najm Al-Mulk’s services to modern engineering and topography of natural areas system of Iran and particularly of Khuzestan, the details of the map are also explained here. The title mentioned in its identity certificate which includes the main Karun River toward Shushtar and the source of Zayandeh Rud, has been chosen as the title of this research. Fortunately, it is known who has drawn this historical map; it is the late Haj Abd Al-Ghaffar Naj Al-Mulk (1839-1908AD), The engineer, historian and astronomer of Naseri era who played a significant role in preparing the geographical maps of Khuzestan. His scientific-engineering records are the indicative of his great activities in this field. Moreover, his “Khuzestan travelogue” is seen as a golden sheet of the history and geography of Khuzestan in Qajar era which can be a valuable heritage for future generations. Based on the data written on the map, it dates back to Ramadan 25th, 1299(1882AD). The name of the drawing location, Tehran, and the drawer’s, Abd Al-Ghaffar, have also been declared on the map. The year 1299AH coincides with 1260SH. Therefore, the map dates back to 136 years ago (based on solar calendar) and 141 years ago (based on lunar calendar). One of the most important traits of this map is illustrating the natural zones, the terrain as well as Karun, Dez and Zayandeh Rud rivers zones which have been shown using particular lines. The lawn and farming surroundings of Karun, Dez and Zayandeh Rud rivers in addition to the longitudinal and transverse shears of Karkonan Mountain are also reported on this map. The sentence “The scale is one part of 20000 parts” shows that the area scale is 1 to 20000 which seems really small in comparison to the river length. The map dimensions are 48×69 cm which seems mediumsized in comparison to the maps existing in the archives of Foreign Affairs Ministry. Among the series of the historical maps remained from Haj Abd Al-Ghaffar Najm Al-Mulk (Najm Al-Doleh), this map has outstanding traits such as showing natural resources including rivers, mountains, the lawn, farms and fertile lands since the ultimate goal has mostly been planning for agriculture and optimal exploitation of rivers as well as getting accurately acquainted with the region to obtain annual taxes. The historical map of “Karun toward Shushtar and the source of Zayandeh Rud” is a clear evidence of such attitude existence. Another noteworthy point is the longitudinal and transverse shears of Karkonan Mountain on such a scale which is a rare one compared to the other maps of Qajar era. This is the indicator of the late Najm Al-Mulk’s precision who was a distinguished cartographer of that era. Keywords: Karun

Seyedun or Seyedun Ali Naghia tomb is located in Nebadan district of Abarghu. This clay monument is a tall dome chamber on the exterior cover of whose dome there are bricks as well as blue and azure tiles. The interior dado is also covered by tiles and the underneath surfaces are decorated with clay Muqarnas, inscriptions and slight painting ornaments. A vast part of the dome cover crumpled probably in 1330sSH (1950s AD) and was renovated some decades later. This building is a mosque attributed to 9th century (AH) called masjid-hosseiniyeh or hosseiniyeh of Nebadan. A small part of it which is part of the attached installations has just remained. It has had an altar whose direction confirmed to the skew Qibla of the congregational mosque and masjidhosseiniyeh of Abarghu. No dated inscription or including the founder name one can be found there. Seyedun Ali Naghia has been briefly inspected in the previous references and is attributed to 8th century (AH) based on Donald Wilber and Godard’s dating while it has been attributed to 6th- 8th centuries (AH) in the national registration file. In this research we try to date the tomb through investigating related documents, its structure and also the comparative inspection conducted during the preparation period of the renovation plan. In addition, we look for the answer to the question whether it was constructed in one single era and when it was built. Its initial function is another issue to be investigated. The dado tiles order, the way of drawing and embellishing Kufic handwriting of the inscriptions and the way of creating squinches in this monument to a great extent resemble 8th century monuments of Yazd and Isfahan. Moreover, the content of the verses written on the inscriptions which alludes to the burial use of them, in addition to above-mentioned traits, arouse the strong possibility of this monument being built as a tomb and for burial purposes. Both the structure and the ornaments are very similar to the damaged tomb of Hasan Ebn-Keikhosro (with an inscription dated 707-718 AH). Since the construction date of that tomb is known, it is likely that Seyedun Ali Naghia was also built in the first quarter of 8th century; the era during which king Mobarez Al-Din could overcome Yazd and Meibod that led to the reign of Mozaffarian dynasty to start. In addition, based on its similarities to 8th century monuments like Seyedun Golsorkhi and Hasan Ebn-Keikhosro domes and through investigating Jame’ Al-kheirat endowment in which Nebadan desert of Abarghu has been mentioned, we conceive that the mentioned buildings were all made in one single era with the fund of a famous figure who might belong to Seyed Rokn Al-Din family. Through investigating the structure of Seyedun Ali Naghia no trace of two different eras was found which leads us to the strong possibility that all of them were constructed in one single era. The content of the inscriptions read in this research for the first time, are Quran-related. We can foresee that more evidences particularly of the original forms of dome covers ornaments would be obtained through future renovations which might in turn reveal other aspects of the monument history.

The findings gathered from the surface of Ghalā Bāng site contain several materials which belong to different periods and no full data about them in the said region are available for example potteries dating back to the Chalcolithic and Bronze Ages. This site is located at Bijar, Kurdistan province of Iran. From the viewpoint of scheduling, our data about when the site was active and when abandoned is scarce and roughly unreliable. It seems that this site covers a relatively complete sequence of cultural relics from the pre-history (Neolithic and Bronze ages), historical (Parthian and Sassanian) up to the Islamic period (middle centuries) and it means a treasure for the region. From the other side, an essential part of the site has been ruined due to illegal diggings, inconsiderate urban constructions as well as other developmental activities. There exists a high risk if any immediate action is done, we may never be able to acquire and extract the remaining data. Even if any danger did not threaten the site, its survey and excavation were of pressing need. Now that its destruction and surrounding developmental activities are speedily going on, urgent implementation of such a project is a must. We hope this report functions as an introduction for a more thorough study in future. Accordingly, three focal objectives are targeted in this report: 1- Rescuing the site before full destruction; 2- Gathering archaeological data for removing or reducing existing ambiguities and inadequacies in cultural-historical sequences of the region and its relation with neighboring areas in deferent periods; 3- Site stratigraphy for providing more data about the chronology of the region.
Archaeological excavations, especially the urban archaeology in this site can introduce this property and the region’s historical and natural attractions.


 

The architecture of residential spaces in Isfahan has put forward treasured examples to the world of art and architecture through history. House is one of the most important forms of the social organization of space in which numerous factors have been influential in its construction just like many other human-made complexes. Due to the changes in the recent century, historical houses are severely vulnerable to destruction, especially where houses constitute a significant part of the historical fabric of historical cities in Iran, including Isfahan. Modern development is one of the key factors in the destruction of and changes in the physical appearance of historical houses. They functioned as the identity-making element of the historical fabrics. Albeit they enjoyed many values including physical, functional and expressive aspects, they have been forgotten at present and sometimes become a crisis for a neighborhood. The result of disregarding the historical fabrics is to dishonor their historical and cultural identity. One of the worst destructions of the residential heritage of Isfahan is purposeful setting fire to such houses. After the demise of Allāmeh Olfat, his home has witnessed many damages and challenges. This house is one of the types of the Iranian residential architecture that in addition to physical values, enjoy unrivalled expressive and trans-physical indexes. This house was one of the cultural markers of Hassanabad neighborhood in the past, but it has become the least secure spot of the community at the moment. To achieve peace and security, the residents of the area endeavor to destroy this valuable heritage. Its destruction led in the disappearance of the dwelling pattern and its relevant culture. This research tries to explain the physical structure and function of Olfat House for documentation based on oral interviews, private and governmental archives. The main goal for answering the critical question is to provide scientific documentation of the structure by analyzing its physical and functional characteristics to clarify its values as an example of destroyed residential heritage of Isfahan. To carry out the project descriptive-analytical method has been employed aiming at the development and utilizing library sources, photos, maps, field studies, observation and interview. The collected data has been analyzed through a qualitative method by comparison and interpretation. The results reveal the physical and functional values of the house though studying the historical documents and comparing them with several contemporaneous historic houses in the same neighborhood. The Olfat House was of rare houses in the Qajar period which were equipped with a garden and bathroom.
Moreover, there existed a unique system of connections among a number of the relatives’ houses through dead-end alleys and private passages. The life in the said house was in concert with Allāmeh Olfat’s extensive activities. His activities in the field of culture and sometimes production such as rose water production reveal the trans-residential functions in the house.

Some of the cultural works which are considered as cultural heritage, regardless of their antiquity and precedence, are simultaneously subject of the legal systems of intellectual property rights and cultural heritage law. This situation can lead to a conflict of interest between private ownership and public law which, in turn, may create many problems for the management of cultural heritage when individuals privately own it. This research tries to remedy such problems by introducing solutions for this conflict of interest without any prejudice to the artists’ rights or the public bodies, the representatives of the society, who are the cultural heritage authorities. From the other side, nowadays many museums utilize modern data technologies as a result of advancement in computer and communication sciences. They publish their artistic works in digital version through the internet. In this way, the data and works are easily accessible. Albeit the new technologies facilitate access to and sharing images, videos, archives, books and historical documents, have also created new challenges especially for identification of owners of the said properties. In the cultural heritage realm, there are many reasons to copy human-made artefacts and relicts either for presentation in museums or for research purposes. Among other things, copyright is one of the most disturbing obstacles to developing digital museums. Copyright faces with numerous confrontations as it can be effortlessly violated. Besides, digital items enjoy less stability because they can be simply copied from a distance. Several users can concurrently use them with ease.
Consequently, the cultural heritage authorities should try to implement measures for preventing the violence of copyright. In the end, this paper reaches to the conclusion that management and protection of intellectual properties which also enjoy heritage capacity lead to complicated and multi-faceted problems as they embrace social, historical, cultural, legal and political aspects. On that account, to manage the accessibility and utilization of such collections, all aspects, as mentioned earlier, should be relatively known and taken into consideration. Accordingly, the museums need precise and pre-determined policies and solutions for the proper execution of their tasks, especially when it comes to the management of their intellectual properties. These solutions should assist the museums in meeting their goals and fulfilling their duties. In doing so, the principle of least intervention, management of digital law and monitoring the public access to the collections constitute three vital principles which the Cultural Heritage entity should pay attention to.

Tehran has changed a lot at the time of Nasiruddin Shah. The changes began from the destruction of Tahmāsbī fortress and constructing a new one and development of the city in 1867. These were done because the town was small; therefore, Nasiruddin Shah ordered to make the changes. There is a very few information about the formation of the development and its details. The existing data can be extracted from historical books and newspapers which were published during the Qajar period and left numerous questions unanswered. There are at least two official documents -about the development of Tehran at the time of Nasiruddin Shah- which the researchers neglected to examine. This paper tries to describe the formation and city planning of Tehran at the time by introducing and analyzing the said documents. Disregarding how much the development is in conformity with the said documents, studying their contents clarifies what kind of thoughts on urban planning were accessible for implementing this development. The records under study are kept in the Boyūtāt Album No. 188 existing in the “National Library and Achieves of the Islamic Republic of Iran”. These documents which address Nasiruddin Shah propose some suggestions about the development of the city of Tehran and constructing a new fortress. The author of the documents is unknown. These two documents were firstly published in “Ganjīne-ye Asnad” Magazine along with several other accounts. As there were several mistakes in the first deciphering, I tried to decipher and rewrite the documents scientifically.  Besides their physical specifics, to understand them in the context of Tehran’s historical changes, a summary on the changes in Tehran at the time of Nasiruddin Shah is provided. 
These documents contain numerous and essential facts about city planning that have been in the minds of the founders of the development of Tehran at the time of Nasiruddin Shah. The first document is in two parts; in the first part the author proposes several suggestions about the form and size of the city, and in the second part, he/she aims to provide how to secure the costs. In the second document, the offerer endeavors to enumerate the benefits of the development of Tehran and convince Nasiruddin Shah to accept the suggestions. 
These two documents reveal following points on the development of Tehran: form and size of the town, statistical issues such as the number of residing households, field area, separating needed residential and non-residential uses, how to secure the costs and the labor force. Moreover, these deeds are essential references for the land price in that period as well as measurement units for length and area in large scales, i.e., at city scale at the time of Nasiruddin Shah. Besides, according to these documents, man can prove the relationship between the twelve gates of the Nāsserī fortress with the Shiite twelve Imams.  

Mosque-school is one of the prominent multi-functional buildings in Iranian architecture. It integrates training use with praying function in a single building. These two utilizations were closely practiced and interacted from the advent of Islam, mostly in mosques. The construction of such a building reached its zenith at the Qajar period. The city of Isfahan has always been one of the leading centers of science and religion in the Islamic period of Iran. To that account, noticeable mosque-schools were erected over there. Rahim Khan mosque-school is considered as one of the developed examples of such a building in that city. To perform appropriate conservational and organizational measures in mosque-schools, one needs to know, as much as possible, the relationship between the two training use and praying function at once.
Studying Rahim Khan mosque-school as one of the eminent mosque-schools of Isfahan can provide a better understanding of these buildings, especially the ones which were constructed at the Qajar period. This research employed descriptive and pictorial documents as well as oral history. At the first stage, to identify the date and process of construction, the contemporaneous resources were studied. Then, all inscription installed on the building were re-examined. The inscriptions were chronologically classified. In addition to the inscriptions, field studies and reviewing oral history helped effectively to understand how the building is constructed and its relevant changes. The present article aims to study the physical organs of the praying and training places of Rahim Khan mosque-school and to explain how these organs are interconnected. Besides for the first time, this investigation, based on the studies, intends to provide a clear view of its developmental process. The author succeeded to identify the date and process of its construction by re-deciphering the dates written on the said inscriptions while the field studies were of great help. Interviews with developers and living family and relatives of the founder of the building were also helpful in this regard. It was erected during the ending years of the Qajar dynasty by one of the famous clergymen of the then time in No neighborhood of Isfahan. When the founder died, the building left uncompleted; therefore, Rahim Khan Biglarbeigi and his brothers accomplished the project. Finally, it was entirely constructed during the early years of the 14th century of the Lunar calendar. 

The Coastal area of Nazhvan is located at the riverside of Zayandehrūd River in the western part of Isfahan. In the gardens of this area which are mostly orchards, woodlands full of fruitless trees, owners have constructed architectural spaces and pavilions. One of the prominent architectural spaces within this territory is a mill known as “Asyāb-e Nazhvān or Hājjī”. There stands a two-floor pavilion on the eastern side of the mill, which is the case study of this paper. This mill is almost the only remaining practical mill in the city of Isfahan. The constructional techniques employed and the addition of the pavilion on the mill are unique. This study tries to scrutinize its structural components. The main spaces, comprising of a five-door chamber in center and two three-door rooms at its sides, stand in the first floor. Besides, some space for facilities such a storage room, kitchen and water closet can be seen on the same storey. There is a three-door room on the second floor which is entirely made of wood, and wooden doors and windows constitute its walls except the chimney and ceiling coating. Now the northern three-door room ceased to exists; therefore, a structural imbalance has emerged on the second floor which ruined the roof of the mill. The field studies reveal that the mill has been built and later this two-floor pavilion was added to it. The constructional timing of the mill and its pavilion needs an extensive discussion which should be done in another investigation. 
After this short introduction, the central question is “how has this two-floor pavilion been added to the mill and what kinds of techniques the mason employed to build the pavilion?” Besides, another noticeable issue is the method used to construct a lightweight pavilion to avoid any excessive load pressure on piers and foundation of the mill. Accordingly, the primary goals of this research are the examination of constructional techniques, (technology of pavilion), how it has been added to the mill, its lightweight construction and deliberate structural documentation of this property. Consequently, execution of this research provides a meticulous study of it which will significantly help to its conservation. Based on the field studies, the descriptive-analytical method was employed for investigation. In the end, the studies show that the piers of the pavilion on the first floor were not consistent with the mill’s piers.
For the same reason, the architect has raised the piers of the mill to build the pavilion. Then, he made a network of poles. The roof of the mill was formed by a traditional method of lightweight construction locally known as “Kenu-bandī” to build an even surface for the first floor. Then after, the piers of the pavilion were installed on the network of poles. The architect tried to create a lightweight pavilion to avoid any extra load on the wooden system. In the same line, he constructed the second floor entirely with wood materials. Through this, the network of poles transferred the pavilion imposing load to the piers and foundation of the mill.