Abstract
The most important way of understanding human being in the past is to study their relics and among the works that have made a significant contribution to identifying culture and civilization and many other issues of ancient Iran, the motif are seals. Studies of this kind of data have been the focus of archeologists and historians for many years and many articles and books have been published on this endless subject. Because the seal and sealing in answering some questions, the correct orientation of a number of questions and new questions about social, economic and people perceptions of the past have been raised. In some motives the artist describes his/her world and this kind of description is actually the optimal use of symbols. In the Persepolis museum, there is a black seal that differ substantially from other Achaemenid seals. This bilateral seal is a lesser-known role in the art of molding and is unique in Achaemenid molding. This seal is first published and revised based on various criteria such as art style and symbol interpretation. The main purpose of this article is to document and introduce the symbols of this seal; the author will also answer a few questions about this seal by using descriptive-analytic methods and by using authentic library resources after fully describing this seal. First, what are some of the concepts used on the engraving on the seal? How these symbols originated and whether these forms were the result of Achaemenid thought or a legacy of a very ancient culture?
Keywords: Seal, Achaemenid, Persepolis, Symbol.

Introduction
On the occasion of the plan of organizing the repositories of the Persepolis museum in the summer of 2015, I had a black seal on a meeting in august of that year. This seal had differences A double-sided stamp seal that is unique in the Achaemenid period. On the other hand, the seals have a special place among the represent the customs, habit and believes of a people and also showcase history, religion, philosophy and art alongside administrative. Social management for centuries, these motives are rooted in ancient Iranian civilization and sometimes influenced by neighboring nations. This portable data has also spread art and culture to other lands due to its use in commercial exchanges, office letters and political relationships. The main purpose of this article is to document this seal and to interpret the emblems that have reached the Achaemenid from the distant past. Recorded in the Persepolis museum of bilateral seal No. 1267. It has a diameter of 15 mm and a thickness of 9 mm. It is made of stone and its location is Persepolis. There are three distinct roles on the seal. First the man sitting and holding a bowl in his hand and a flower in his other hand. The second is the cedar tree behind the man, and the third is censer in front of the man. The man is Probably a king with a short crown, the hemisphere is like the Achaemenid image.

Identified Traces
Three separate images can be seen on the seal, first is the man sitting and holding the wine cup in one hand and the flower in the other the second is the cedar tree behind the man and the third the udsuz in front of the man.
The man is probably a king with a short crown with several congresses, it is depicted from the half- face like the other Achaemenid image, the crown is similar to the Ahura Mazda round Cap. On the king’s seal has the original image and the role of cendar and is quite marginal.
Beneath the crown of hair, curly like all the motifs of persepolis the forehead and back, the king’s face wide and his eyebrows reached the ears, the nose is delicate, long and straight, lips are up and drinking and beard shorter than persepolis motifs but curly, the king’s eyes look great. The king’s neck was proportioned to the body, part of which was nuder the dress, the king’s hands are long and stretched and he looks thin. The king has a lotus flower in his left hand with a bud in his right hand corner, like Darius in the Naghshe Baram. The branch of the flower is tall and its end protrudes from the king’s hands. The king has a large wine cup in his right hand that lifts it up or closes it. The king’s waist is slender and its curvature is quite evident, and the belt is wrapped in two rows around the king’s waist. The king’s feet are on the ground and parallel to the base of the chair. The king’s Boot is a long boot with twisted straps that are not simple in the designs attributed to king Boots, but a simple shoe. Behind the king is a small triangular cedar, there are ten rows of branches on the left and eleven branches on the right of the cedar tree. The branches have all gone upwards and look like praying hands.
It is noteworthy that most tree motifs are on the palm tre seal and less than the cedar tree. Lion painted on a young and very angry seal seems to be a characteristic of most of the lions imprinted in the Achaemenid period. The body of lion is soft and agile, his head turned back. The hands and feet are in a relaxed gait so that the lion triumphantly moves forward the bird on the seal is Dorna that wing has been opened it seems that the artist insisted on drawing the head and neck of the Dorna so as not to induce the role of the Farrah.

Conclusion
Prehistoric believes of Iranian ethnicity have had such a broad role in shaping Iranian art that it is still visible in many works of art, an example is the seal studies. At a time when most of the seals built during the Achaemenid period are cylindrical, a bilateral seal imprinted on Persepolis is the most famous and important Achaemenid city, all the carved motives on it reflect the millennial believes of the Iranian people, some of which still have the same implicatins for contemporary people. None of the motives were devised by the Achaemenid artist, rather, old concepts in a new way with new technology and sophistication are on the seal.

Abstract
Using stucco as decoration in buildings has a long precedent. Scrutinizing the surviving edifice from historical periods shows that the art of plastering has been methodical and has a special style since the Parthian era. These methods evolved in the Sassanid era and continued with nuance in the Islamic era. Our knowledge of the art of stucco decoration of the Sassanid period is mostly based on the excavation of several important sites of this period, including the historic city of Bishapur. Bishapur is the center of the Shapur-province which was considered to be one of the cities or the state of five states of Persia and it was established during the reign of Shapur I, the second Sassanid emperor. Manifold artworks have been found in Bishapour’s excavation such as unique mosaic paintings as well as plastering and painting on plaster, especially in the part of the royal citadel. Many of these findings which are some important artifacts and features, exploring in the ninth season of excavation such as the revelation of architectural spaces in the south of the mosaic porch in the part called “Royal Citadel” and stone objects such as mortars, Xunak: stone table, stone statues made of marble and decorative beads, glass kilns and pieces of glassware, pottery and metal. The most important architectural works revealed in the excavation are the corridors on the south side of the mosaic porch, rooms with plaster works’ niches, while some of them are painted and decorated with red ocher clay, plaster of the walls, and plaster of the floor of architectural spaces have been found in these rooms as well. The plaster artworks are mostly included the parallel strips that are used at the edges of niches and entrances. Gypsum mosaic porch decorations include plaster coating and painting on the plaster, as well as plaster works and remains. Considering that all these pieces belong to the Sassanid period, the main question in this research is: How were they made? The method of data collection has been done in two ways, fieldwork and by researching in the library in this article. Besides, the tendency in this research was to introduce and analyze these findings in the context of the plaster art of the Sassanid period in this historical city
Keywords: Sassanid Period, Bishapur, Architectur Decorations, Stucco.

Introduction
The city of Bishapur, with an area of about 155 hectares, is an enormous area where comprehensive exploration is impossible in a short time. The ninth season excavation program started on 22/05/2011 and lasted until 6/07/2011.
The most important objects found from the excavation were: Three pieces of human sculpture of a man as well as a piece of human sculpture of a woman, both made of marble. A significant number of archaeological findings in the ninth season of the excavation of the historic city of Bishapur were metal fragments. The metal findings based on the type of metals are iron, copper, and silver, in order of frequency respectively. In addition to these findings, several earthenware jars and pots of different dimensions are among the main objects of the ninth season of the excavation of the historical city of Bishapur. For the first time, in the same excavation season, all the pottery pieces founded in the excavation, have been collected, washed, and classified. The first category includes decorative objects such as statues and precious and semi-precious stones, which include ring agate stones and necklace beads, as well as turquoise stones; and the second category, including oil trays, mortars, and stone tables which is known as “Xunak” by the locals. There were also recovered many pieces of broken glassware along with a glass kiln during the ninth season of excavating the historic city of Bishapur. In the same season, manifold remnants of glass-making furnaces and mosaic pieces were discovered. The most important findings of architectural works include the corridors on the south side of the mosaic porch, rooms with bedside niches, which are sometimes painted and decorated with red ocher mud. Another finding in this season was plaster pieces which is the purpose of writing this article, is to introduce and classify these plaster findings.

Identified Traces
The ninth season of the excavation in the historical city of Bishapur focused on the south and west sides of the mosaic porch, and although in the development of the excavation and the pursuit of walls and spaces, the scope of the excavation was extended to the eastern boreholes; But most of the findings come from southern boreholes, especially the D-3, D-4, and D-5. In terms of plastering and decorations, these three boreholes were richer than the other boreholes.
In general, there are two types of indicator hypotheses about the construction of gypsum decorations; In the first hypothesis, it is believed that the plaster decorations in this area were drawn on the walls at once, and then the artist created his desired designs on the plaster with a tool similar to a scraper; But in the second hypothesis, it is believed that the plaster’s decorations were made in the form of molding and then installed in place. Given the available evidence, it is not wise to simply accept or reject any of these theories. Applying and combining these two methods was certainly not impossible, and the artists of the Sassanid period could create innovative and new methods in this field; Because it seems that in some cases the designs have been prepared by molding method and in some cases, the plasters have been applied on the wall at once; Thus, in Bishapur, the two methods of in-situ shaping and fabrication using mold can be considered as the main methods in performing plastering techniques. In the in-situ shaping method, after applying the gypsum paste on the desired surface, such as a wall or ceiling, etc., and the expiration of the gypsum setting to a suitable level that does not cause the gypsum to fall, the gypsum master forms the gypsum mortar. In the method of using the mold, it is done in two ways: in situ and prefabricated. In the in-situ method, gypsum mortar is poured into a one-piece or multi-piece wooden mold that has been pre-made, and in some cases, it is injected and after setting the plaster and kneading it, it separates the mold from it and the masterworks on its joinery. In the prefabricated mold method, all the parts are pre-made and the master connects them and after joining all the parts, he pays them. Gypsum pieces with geometric designs found from the ninth season of excavation in Bishapur are usually mold-making and do not have various shapes, and are usually spoon-shaped, in other words, tube-shaped. It seems that all these parts have been used to cover around the ledges, corners of walls, windows, and doors. Parts of this type of plastering around a ledge have also been found. Another example of stucco is “shell designs”. These pieces represent a bunch of bivalve mussels. The use of these parts is all as fillets next to the dome and porch as well as the corners of the rooms. These pieces were also made by molding and probably did this on the spot.
Other parts are plaques that are found in the form of broken pieces. These parts usually belong to the edge of the plate and are only one part of the center of the plate. The plaques sometimes have human motifs depicting kings, princes, princes, and gods, and provide valuable information for researchers in the analysis of political history, art, and archeology. The face of a king or prince was found inside a plaque in the Bishapur, the preliminary stages of which have been completed and the results will be published in the future. The designs of these gypsum boards are usually geometric and floral. The geometric patterns are mostly related to the square border of the plate. Several pieces of red and black colored plaster are also obtained, which are related to flat walls.
The artists of the Sassanid period could create innovative and new methods in the field of plastering; Because it seems that in some cases the designs have been prepared by molding method and in some cases, the plastering has been applied on the wall all at once; Thus, in Bishapour, the two methods of in-situ shaping and fabrication using molds can be considered as the main methods in performing plastering techniques, which are usually prefabricated parts made in two sizes; One of them is 12 x 12 cm and the other is 18 x 18 cm.

Conclusion
From all the discovered artifacts, little information can be figured out from the plastering around the ledges. Upper back injuries are more common than lower back injuries. These plasters consist of two categories; The first category is plastering that is prefabricated in parts that have been molded due to mass production and the findings of this category are more. The second category is plastering which is built on-site and this category has a greater role. From the first category, most of the stucco is found with a cross and spoon design, and from the second category, there are a little number of gypsum plates. In terms of shape and role, it can almost be said that role limitations are observed in the discovered samples and the designs are not very diverse. These parts had the least similarity with the parts discovered from other Sassanid sites.

Abstract
In the repository of Persepolis Museum, there are about 700 pieces of inscribed stones related to the cinctures of Persepolis Palaces, almost all of which are broken and incomplete. It us noteworthy that all the pieces are incomplete and broken in one place and only one cincture in the museum hall is complete and the rest of the pieces are all incomplete. Even the healthy piece was broken at the same point where the other cincture were broken and later repaired. All these fractures and defects have been done intentionally and from two specific places. About 40 of these pieces belonged to Thatcher Palace, and after their arrangement and reconstruction, 12 cinctures were obtained equal to the number of Thatcher Palace columns. In all this number, the name of Xerxes is seen as the builder and there is no other name of the Achaemenid kings. The sculptors have followed a certain pattern for their work. Apparently, all the pieces have inscriptions and these inscriptions were in three living languages of that time, namely ancient Persian, Elamite and Babylonian, and all the inscriptions were carved with cuneiform. These three civilizations were the most important civilizations of their time and they certainly had interactions with each other. In this article, we will try to study the cincture inscriptions of Thatcher Palace columns by descriptive-analytical method. How many paragraphs dose the writing contain and what does it contain? The three languages are compared and analyzed, their differences are identified and finally the cause of their breakdown is investigated. 
Keywords: Cuneiform, Cincture, Persepolis, Thatcher Palace.

Introduction
The common script in Achaemenid times is cuneiform, which some scholars attribute to the previous kings of Darius and even the period of historical beginning (Young, 2007: 38). Elamite was the official language and Aramic language common is most areas under Achaemenid rule. But it should be considered in mind that with the vastness of the Achaemenid territory, there were certainly many linguistic differences in this land, which according to recent linguistic research, probably more than 10 languages were common in this territory, (Anthony, 2013,37). The number of inscriptions from the Achaemenid period that have been discovered so-far is over 40 inscriptions, the most famous of which is the great Bistoon, which is written in three languages: ancient Persian Elamite and Babylonian. With the coming to power of Darius, this line was completed so that the types of verbs and their tenses, as well as pronouns and objects and the construction of verbs in it were well observed, and because it was based on grammar, it was possible to decipher it. It is noteworthy that the cuneiform is the only line that there is slash sign between words, and this feature led Rawlison to decipher it for the first time, and then the starting point for deciphering other lines, such as the Babylonian, Elamute and Assyrians...... The main goal of any linguistic research based on a silent language is to go through the veils of historical and cultural language and to achieve a correct understanding of the inscriptions and a report that is as enlightening as possible, in addition, providing an opportunity to teach a silent language has been a sub-goal of this research. In this research, apart from the ancient Persian language, the Elamite language of the Achaemenid period, which was strange in its birthplace, Iran, has been studied. Unfortunately, less of this research has been by domestic researchers in the field of ancient Iranian languages in the field of Elamite language. Thatcher Palace, column and its cinctures.

Discussion
Thatcher’s stone cinctures in Persepolis are divided into three categories in terms of material, shape, color, and size. 
1. Cinctures made of limestone which has a light gray color and in terms of shape and form has a simple cut and no geometric tools and on it inscriptions in three languages of ancient Persian, Elamite and Babylonian in a very beautiful, technical way carved without the slightest fracture. All letters and symbols have a dimension in the sculpture and have elongated symbols and are neither short nor long due to the small space. For this reason, this type of current is called cuneiform by Nasta’liq writers. (picture7). This cincture sample has not been found more than two samples so-far, for this resin, this specimen must belong to the columns inside Thatcher Palace Hall. The stones with which the sculptors used to build these types of columns were extracted from the mines of the same area. (picture, 1,4,5). 
2. The cincture is made of decorative stone or hematite, which is glossy black, this type cincture is smaller in diameter and height than the other two, similar in shape to the first sample, which is made of limestone. The reason for the simplicity of this sample is probably the high degree of hardness of the lathe. On this cincture unlike the first sample, trilingual inscriptions with cuneiform lines are carved in a row and in the same order, a few centimeters apart. In this way, the last sign of the Babylonian cuneiform, which is the end of the inscription, is located a few centimeters behind the beginning  of the ancient Persian inscription, the carving of the symbols and letters on it were simple and had no dimension, and perhaps due to the hardness of the stone, they used narrow and simple symbols and letters, and had no small, crushed pieces and also there are two samples of this cincture, one almost complete, which attracted the inside the Persepolis Museum, and the other was half of cincture that was placed in the tank of the same museum. (Picture 2 and 8). 
3. Cincture made of decorative stone and light blue color with a gutter tool around its upper edge, also this cincture is larger in diameter and height than the other two types, and triple cuneiform are carved in a row on it. This type of cuneiform has beautiful but it does not have concave dimension and beauty of the first type. (Picture 3and 6). The size of the cinctures starts at 5 Cm and covers up to one third of a cincture. Its inscriptions were masterfully sculpted in ancient Persian, Elamite and Babylonian languages. After arrangement, the pieces reached 12 cincture, which were the number of columns in the Palace. After translating each word, it replaced them and finally a text was obtained that was repeated 12 times in 3 languages. The important point with our discussion was that a common part this text disappeared in the sentence and then continued the sentence to the end.

Conclusion
When Alexander entered Persepolis, more than two centuries had passed since the Achaemenid Kings ruled the world, and more than one hundred and seventy years had passed since the construction of Persepolis. Conqueror historians have written that after Alexander’s conquest of Persepolis, he ordered it Tobe burned while intoxicated at the request of his mistress, and they know this commandment against his inner desire and try to remove this shameful act from his face on the other hand, if Xerxes or his father Darius, he immediately rebuilt it, although such an action, ie the burning of Athens by the Achaemenids, was never reported. With these details, the authors of this article found that the fire and destruction of Persepolis had nothing to do with the above story, Greek soldier, consciously and under Alexander’s direct order, destroyed the inscriptions, symbols and looted the architecture and its treasures. When they translated these inscriptions for Alexander, he saw himself defeating the Achaemenids without a rival to the emperor of the world. As a result, he ordered the destruction of all inscriptions that had such meanings, especially titles such as king of the world etc., for this reason, broken pieces were not found when translating the cincture. There is also a broken statue of Darius in the treasury of Persepolis, which is clearly visible due to the strong blow, especially the left eye of the statue, which is split on both sides and the place of the blow corresponds to the arrow of Alexander’s soldiers, and as you fill the gap with the sculpting paste, it becomes an arrow, the same shapes can be found at the fracture site of the cincture.

Abstract
Pottery can perhaps be considered one of the most important data found in archaeological excavations in order to help clarify the unknowns of any ancient site and answer questions. This data shows one important part of human interactions in the past. By examining this data, various approaches are available to archaeologists, the prerequisite of which is to be purposeful and act correctly in pottery typology. By studying the pottery of the Parthian period of the and the spread of its types in the Persian Gulf, one of the hand, the cultural expansion of the Parthians in the south of Iran an on the other hand due to its geographical expansion in the south of the Persian Gulf, the seafaring of the Parthians in the northern and southern coasts of the Persian Gulf. The purpose of writing this article is to investigate the types of Parthian pottery in the south of Iran and to document the cultural connections between the settlements  in the north and south of the Persian Gulf , then to present a picture of seafaring in the Persian Gulf and the cultural expansion of the Parthians in the Arabian Peninsula. In this article, the Parthian pottery types of the Tom-Maron will be analyzed and classified based on the archeological excavation documents of the area. The most important question in this research is the pottery characteristics of the Parthian period of the Tom-Maron, then we are looking for the question that the cultural development of the Parthian period based on the findings of the Tom-Maron was formed under what factors? This research clearly showed that based on the method of making the color of the body and the paste, 10 types of Parthian pottery can be classified in Tom-Maron. The species identified with the sites of the coasts and islands of the northern Persian Gulf, such as Qeshm Island, Makran regions, and also the southern coasts of the Persian Gulf, such as the Maliha site, form a cultural domain. 
Keywords: Pottery of the Parthian, Rodan Plain, Tom-Maron, Persian Gulf.

Introduction
Investigating the cultural materials of different cultural periods in the areas along the Persian Gulf, as a historical and strategic waterway, has always been of interest to rulers near and far, and has been the place of passage for ships of culture and civilizations of the East and the West for thousands of years. In the meantime, due to its location on the banks and back banks of the Persian Gulf and its vital and strategic waterways, namely the Strait of Hormuz, throughout history, the Rodan plain has a very important position from a historical-cultural, political-social, and of course, economic point of view. (Hessari, 2018).
The purpose of writing the article is to investigate the types of Parthian pottery in the south of Iran and to document the cultural connections between the settlements in the north and south of Persian Gulf. In this framework, cultural interactions will be discussed in this period in order to pottery a suitable picture of the relations between the two coasts of the Persian Gulf, which showed the cultural expansion of the Parthians through seafaring in the Persian Gulf. In this article, the pottery types of the Parthian period of Tom-Maron will be analyzed and classified based on the archeological excavation documents of the area. The most important question of this research is the pottery characteristics of the Parthian period of the Tom-Maron can the distribution of these types be a sign of cultural interactions on both sides of the Persian Gulf? Then the cultural development of the Parthian period was formed under what factors based on the findings of the Tom-Maron? This research clearly showed that based on the method of making, the color of the body and the paste in the Tom-Maron, 10 types of Parthian pottery can be classified. About 10 samples of Parthian period pottery were found in this area (Table 1). Among the prominent examples of the Parthian period, we can mention Namord and Lando (Figure 8) was found in prominent sites in the north of the Persian Gulf, such as Reyshahr (Whitechouse & Williamson, 1973). Dambkouh (Basafa, 2008: 24, PL), (row 9, table 1). Regarding the chronology of this type of pottery, Potts has classified them into two old Parthian periods, the first and second centuries AD, and the new type in the early Sassanian period (Potts, 1998: 211).
Single yellow glazed pottery (Fig 6), turquoise monochrome (Fig 7) and pottery with gray paste (Fig 5) are also examples of Parthian pottery from this area in the northern regions of the Persian Gulf , especially in the Qeshm region (Khosrowzadeh , 1392) has been obtained (rows 4,5&6 of Table 1). Other types of pottery with pea-colored paste (Fig 3) and brown brick- like paste (Fig 2) have also been introduced as pottery of this period due to their placement in the layers of the Parthian period , in terms of the comparative of these pottery with the sites of northeastern Iran, such as the Ismail Abad Neishabour site (Davari et al, 2017). In this context, it can be said that one of the most important types of pottery found in this area is Namord pottery. Considering the widespread distribution of Namord pottery in the southeast of Iran and the northern and southern coasts of the Persian Gulf, this type of pottery was probably exchanged in the Persian Gulf as a commodity in a limited and local trade between the northern and southern areas of the Persian Gulf. Although Williamson has proposed the Rodan plain and Minab region as the production area of this type of pottery (Williamson. 1972), the Namord type pottery of Tom-Maron area is also similar in terms of identifying comparable samples in areas such as Kush (Kennet 6.fig :2002). Maliha was obtained on the southern shores of the Persian Gulf.

Conclusion
The connection of the Persian Gulf of Iran is not limited to its geographical proximity, but this sea along with its islands and coasts has been a part of Iran’s territory and culture in different historical periods and is a symbol of the manifestations and works of Iranian culture. In this research, according to the distribution and typology of Parthian period pottery in the Tom-Maron area, the relationship of this area with the areas of the same period was investigated. Based on the present research, 10 types of Parthian period pottery were identified. The results of the typological comparisons show that the similarities between the Parthian pottery of the Rodan region and the neighboring regions, as well as their differences with the distant regions, indicate a wide connection between these regions. Based on the characteristics and typology of the pottery of Tom-Maron site and the remains of pottery kilns, it can be concluded that this site was one of the main centers of Parthian pottery production on the northern shores of the Persian Gulf. The pottery of the northern coasts of the Persian Gulf, Kerman, northeastern Iran, and the southern coastal areas of Persian Gulf have the most similarities with the pottery of Tom-Maron. Also, based on the archaeological excavations of Tom-Maron and the evidence and data obtained, it seems that the Parthian period sites in Rodan plain follow a homogeneous cultural pattern with other sites on the same horizon in the cultural area of the Persian Gulf. The examples of Parthian pottery in the southern countries of the Persian Gulf also apply due to areas from the northern Persian Gulf and its extensive production in those settlements.

Abstract
Lut desert is located in southeastern Iran. The area, despite having many historical monuments, including numerous castles, has not received enough attention from architectural historians. This study aims to clarify the architectural features and the purpose for the multiplicity of these fortresses in this region, it has been tried to study and investigate them with descriptive, analytical, and logical cognitive methods. The research was carried out by library and field studies of 140 castles, as case studies, in the region. The study’s results show that the climate and security factors are the main reasons for erecting the castles. Abundant water and location on the trade routes made the region rich, and on the other hand, point water sources and their limitations caused dispersion and distance between the structures and increased insecurity. According to historical sources, desert outlaws have also had a large presence in the region.  Besides, the techniques to deal with violent sandstorms had caused them to build cities and villages in the middle of high barriers, or to build a castle inside or around it for use in times of need, which caused the number of castles in the investigated area. This has also caused the majority of castles in the region to have residential functions and be built inside or around cities and villages, and other functions and establishments are less frequent. The architecture of the castles and defense fortifications of the region also follows the common architecture of the central plateau castles, excluding incomparable cases. So, most of the castles follow the square and rectangular geometry, and in some cases, the irregular, trapezoidal, and parallelogram geometry is derived from the climatic and contextual conditions. The materials used were canvas and due to the ease of construction, speed of mass production, lower cost and camouflage, mud and mud brick in plain fortresses, and stone in mountain ones. Most of the towers are built in the corners and the middle of the sides with observational, defensive, and structural functions, and in some cases, towers are seen in the middle of the castle with only observational functions. The fortresses’ defense structure mainly is based on the barrier and tower, and as the wealth and population of residential castles increased, more defense boundaries were added.
Keywords: Fortress, Defensive Fortifications, Lot Desert, Kerman.

Introduction
Castles were military or civilian fortifications that were built using natural geographical features to maintain security (Sultani Mohammadi and Bulouri Bunab, 2015: 75). There are many variations in their use and they have a form of residence and social structure, different from the structure of the village and city (Parsi, 1383: 136; Nurbakhsh, 1366: 147).
In Iran, the formation of enclosed group buildings with various methods has a history of three thousand years (Kleiss, 1383: 160). The early forts in Iran can be seen as a relic of the agricultural civilization, when humans started to settle down and needed to maintain their security (Kiani, 1374: 78). In the past, next to many settlements and cities of Iran, there were one or more fortresses, which became people’s shelters during unrest and insecurity (Pirnia and Me‘marian, 2007: 82). Their functions were different, and the smallest of them was a military base or post, and the largest of them were guarded shelters for caravans and military and defensive forts (Siro, 1357: 54). Also, some of them were the central core of the ancient cities of Iran, and the main life of the people was often formed inside the fortresses and old forts (Zarei and Heydari Baba Kamal, 2016: 202). Some scholars believe that castles were built first and then towns were formed around them (Zuka, 1374; Na‘imi, 1389). These defense structures were usually built by the governments to protect the strategic and border cities against the enemy’s invasion and the encroachments of nomadic desert rovers (Wiley, 2016: 26).
Owing to political, economic, and geographical requirements, in both pre-Islamic and Islamic eras, numerous fortresses, and defensive buildings were built. The southern and western edge of the Lut desert in Kerman province is one of them, due to its special geographical location, has many historical castles that have not been studied and investigated in detail, and the studies conducted are limited to archaeological investigations and identifications and monographs. It is related to buildings. This area consists of important cities such as Ravar, Shahdad, Bam, Fahraj, Regan and Narmashir. Each of these cities had political, social and economic prestige at some point in history from the third and fourth millennium BC to the middle Islamic centuries (Qazvini, 1373: 243; Muqadsi, 1361: 680 and 684; Istakhari, 1373: 246; Yaqut, 1383: 269 and 296; Zarei and Heydari Kamal, 1393: 196, Hakimi, 1385: 28; Hakeimi, 1351: 78; Kabuli, 1369: 213). Considering the importance of this type of building in understanding the historical architecture of Iran, as well as the process of their destruction due to natural and human erosion, it is necessary to examine them with a closer look and in more detail. The upcoming research has investigated the castles of this area with such an approach and tried to answer two main questions: 1- What are the architectural characteristics of the fortress in the geographical area of the southern and western border of the Lut desert? 2- What is the main reason for the appearance, formation, and number of fortresses in this region?

Discussion
The structure used in the barrier of all the load-bearing wall castles and the materials used in the fence of all the plain castles the mud and mud brick and mountain areas, stone and baked brick are used for strengthening the base of the barriers. Stone has been the main material in the few mountain castles in the region. Although various decorations are used in the castles, due to functional reasons, they are seen in a limited number.
In terms of shape, the majority of castles in the region are square and rectangular, that is, the dominant form of such buildings in the central plateau of Iran. However, there are several castles with special trapezoidal, parallelogram, and irregular geometries, which were built in this way due to the specific topography of the environment and climatic conditions, such as facing sandstorms.
The dominant form of the towers is also cylindrical. In some cases, rectangular cube forms and square bases have been used, all of which have led to more structural resistance of the towers. The semi-cylindrical form has also led to the optimal use of space. Only one case of a triangular tower foundation has been seen in the castles, which is considered an exception. In terms of the location of the towers, the majority are placed in the corners and middle of the sides, which is by the usual architecture of castles. However, the construction of towers in the middle of the castle is surprising in many cases.
The defense structure of the castles of the region is based on two types, fenced and unfenced. Most of them consist of walls and towers, and several fences and ditches have been added. In some cases, the position of the bed in the mountain castles has been used and, on some sides, the fence has been removed. Most of the castles are located inside or outside of villages and cities for security and climatic reasons. The forts on the road and near the rivers were also built for security reasons.
To determine the exact function of fortresses is unclear, however, based on the previous data, the purpose can be recognized to some extent. Therefore, the castles that were built at the critical points between the road and the water divide had military use in strategic locations. The fortresses that were built in the center and around the villages were the lords’ fortifications that had either a residential position or an economic function. In the case of expansion and adding spaces such as the guard’s room, posts, and spaces similar to the military function, they become residential and if they are located in a prosperous city and court spaces are located inside them, they have a ruler’s seat. Fortresses that are located next to villages and cities have a shelter function.  

Conclusion 
the research studied the architectural features of the fortifications and defensive structures of the western and southern border of the Lut desert from 5 aspects: construction method, defensive structure, form, location, and function. The results of this study show that the fence structure of all the castles under investigation of the load-bearing wall is mainly made of mud and mud bricks, and in some cases, stone and brick have been used in combination with them for more strength. The richness of mud and mud bricks, cheapness and lower construction expenses, riches of mass production, faster production, matching the color with the environment, and helping to better camouflage compared to bricks and non-woven materials. Also, few mountain castles are built with stone materials due to their availability and the possibility of camouflage. The defense structure of most castles is based on fences and towers, and the number of towers and fences has been reduced and increased according to demand, and moats have been used. In general, as the wealth and population of castles, one of whose functions was residential, increased, rulers and residents increased the number of defense layers. There is also a type without fence, which is built due to climate and derived from the form of nuclear villages. In this way, the height of the external walls was increased to prevent the entry of sand into the central structure, no doors and windows were opened to the outside, and the passage was made only through the gate. This is not only to deal with climatic problems but also increases the security of the castle. The dominant form in the castles of the region is square and rectangular, but due to climatic and contextual reasons, many rhombus-shaped, trapezoidal, and irregular castles have also been built. The castles built based on the plan, follow the traditional square and rectangular geometry of the castles of the central plateau of Iran. The castles that have expanded over time and the castles that have been designed using the characteristics of the bed and the background (such as mountain and riverside castles) have irregular geometry. Most of the towers are built in the middle of the sides and corners however, in some cases, the construction of towers is in the middle and outside of the fortress. The towers in the middle of the castle had only an observation role, but the towers located in the corners and the middle of the sides had a defensive and structural role. Also, due to structural and spatial reasons, some castles are made of rectangular cube towers, cube bases, and semi-cylindrical towers.
The number of castles in the region is affected by the forces of security and climate. The inhabitant areas of the western and southern border of Lut have been very rich due to plentiful water and are located on commercial roads. On the other hand, the limitation of point water sources such as wells, aqueducts, and springs had caused the creation of irregular and scattered villages in the middle of the desert with a distance from each other and increased insecurity. According to historical sources, desert outlaws have also had a large presence in the region. All these factors, in addition to the techniques to deal with violent sand storms, had caused cities and villages to be built in the middle of the fence, or to build a castle inside or around it for use in times of need, which has caused the number of castles in the investigated area.  This has caused the majority of fortresses in the region to have residential functions and to be built around and inside villages and cities, and other functions and settlements are less frequent.

Abstract
The Kur River basin, located in the Northwest of Fars province, is considered one of the main centers of the formation of the Achaemenid Empire. In terms of geographical landscape and climatic characteristics, the mentioned region includes vast intermountain plains (including Marvdasht and Korbal), rivers with deep beds (Kur and Sivand) and semi-arid climate. According to these conditions, the managers of Achaemenid economic-political institutions intelligently used the environmental capabilities of the region by building dams, weirs, Pool, reservoirs/catchments and canals to control surface waters and direct them to the ground. Agriculture and human settlements have paid. The dams and Weirs, while playing the aforementioned role, also prevented the damage to the agricultural lands located downstream by controlling the floods. The method of construction and selection of materials in the construction of structures has been different depending on the environment and their function. Dams and Weirs are mainly formed with an earthen core and a stone wall. The canals are also created in two ways: earthen and stone, or a combination of these two methods. The discussed structures have been attributed to the Achaemenid period, mainly based on their morphological features, type of materials, connection with the surrounding sites and comparative comparison with similar structures. The present study tries to introduce the Hydraulic Structures of the Kur River basin, its functional nature and morphological characteristics by using the descriptive-analytical method and by examining the evidences resulting from archaeological excavations and surveys. 
Keywords: Achaemenians, Kur River Basin, Hydraulic Structures, Canal, Agriculture.

Introduction
Central Fars region/Kur basin has a semi-arid climate with a Mediterranean rainfall pattern, most of which occurs in the winter season. New geological research and climate data show that during the Achaemenid period, the weather conditions of the Kur River basin were very similar to today (Djamali et al., 2009; Kehl et al., 2009; Rigot, 2010). Therefore, water control and management in a semi-arid environment with irregular rainfall patterns and rivers with deep beds has been vital and inevitable. According to these conditions, the managers of the political and economic institutions of the region have invested in the construction of structures such as dams, Weirs, reservoirs, and canals, whose works and evidence have been proven as a result of research and investigation. These Structures were built in different areas of the Kur River and with different purposes. The discussed structures in terms of dimensions and size, the amount of work and the materials used show the support and investment of the government. Therefore, the existence of various water structures, conducting targeted research in order to find out the functional nature of the structures, their physical structure and the reasons for assigning them to the Achaemenid period seems necessary. The main and important question of the current research is what was the function and performance of Hydraulic Structures in the Kur River basin during the Achaemenid period? What was the basis of the chronology and assignment of the studied water structures to the Achaemenid period? The structure, the environmental study and the geographical background of the formation of the structures have shown their various functions, such as supplying water to human settlements and agricultural lands, controlling and directing floods. Also, the discussed structures have been dated to the Achaemenid period, mainly based on their morphological features, type of materials, connection with the surrounding sites and comparative comparison with similar Structures.

Identified Traces 
As it was mentioned before, as a result of Archaeological investigations and researches, several important Hydraulic structures from the Achaemenid period have been identified and studied in the Kur river basin. In terms of morphological characteristics, the mentioned structures are divided into groups such as Dams, Weirs, Canals and Reservoirs. Among them, we can mention Band-e- Dokhtar, Bard Burideh II, Band-e- Bas II, Rahmat Mountain Canal, Asiyab Dam, Qondashloo Mountain Canal, etc. For the accurate dating of some of these structures (such as the band Dokhtar and the Bard Burideh), there is enough evidence, including the use of carved stone blocks and Dovetail Clamps. But some others can be attributed to the Achaemenid period based on possible evidence, including comparative comparison with similar structures and the connection with the surrounding sites. Band-e- Bas II and identified channels are included in this group. The precision and skill used in the construction of these structures indicate the existence of advanced engineering in the Achaemenid period. The chosen place for the implementation of Hydraulic projects reflects their functional nature. Therefore, it can be said that most of the Hydraulic Structures can be defined in connection with water supply and irrigation projects. The reason for the existence of Channels makes sense in this connection. Band-e- Dokhtar, Band-e- Bas and Asiyab Dam probably had a multifaceted function (irrigation, water supply and flood control). The Persepolis Tablets refer to a large amount of Agricultural and horticultural products in the Kur River basin. According to the texts of Persepolis, the diet of the people of this area in the Achaemenid period was mainly based on Agricultural products (barley and wine). Some of these crops can only be cultivated if irrigated. In addition, the implementation of irrigation projects has made it possible to plant nurseries and fruit gardens (mentioned in the Tablets).

Conclusion 
As the heart of the Achaemenid Empire, the Kur River basin has diverse environmental and geographical capabilities, including vast and fertile plains and permanent rivers. These natural characteristics have prompted the economic policy makers of the Achaemenid Empire to implement the economic programs of the Kur region according to its potential. The use and exploitation of surface water (rivers and springs) for the economic prosperity of the region by building structures such as dams, Weirs, canals and reservoirs is one of these measures. In this context, Band-e- Dokhtar and the canal branching from it, Bard Burideh II, Band-e- Bas II, Koh-e- Rahmat Canal, Koh-e- Qondashloo Canal, Koh-e- Ayyub Canal, Dezhabad-Amir Aqueduct are worth mentioning. The environmental study of the formation of structures and their placement in the landscape of the region shows that the main purpose of creating structures was to supply water to human settlements and Agricultural lands. The Persepolis Archive implicitly indicate the expansion and prosperity of agriculture/Gardening activities and diet based on agricultural products in the Kur river basin. Also, the reference of the Tablets to the cultivation of water crops (cotton, flax and rice) and various fruits can be considered as clear evidence of the role of water supply structures. The discussed structures have been attributed to the Achaemenid period, mainly based on their morphological features, type of materials, connection with the surrounding Sites and comparative comparison with similar structures. In terms of size and dimensions, the above structures show the amount of work and materials used for government support and investment.