Abstract
A large part of Iran is located in dry areas, for this reason, various measures have been taken for water management, especially surface water. Dry weather, lack of rainfall, seasonality of river water and gradual drying of rivers, created the idea of water storage in the form of dams, aqueducts and cisterns in the human mind. The cisterns have different designs depending on the climatic and social conditions of each region. Also, the architecture of such buildings in different regions has been influenced by local architecture. Optimum management of low rainfall in a few days of the year in an area that due to the geological texture of the underground water table is insignificant and salty was a sign of the genius of the inhabitants of the Iranian plateau for water storage. With the progress of this tradition, especially during Islamic periods, the number of settlements in the region increased. One of the water storage structures is the cisterns, which were built along the flood path so that the surface water is directed to them after the rain and used for various purposes.  The question is, considering the scarcity of water in the region, is it possible to restore this structure in a modern way by reviving the past techniques? Due to the low but heavy rainfall in the south of the country, the ponds, in addition to providing an important part of the residents’ water, also act as floodgates, and with one rain at the end of the summer season and a few rains in the winter season, all the thousands of ponds in the south of the country are filled. But with the dependence of these areas on the water of the dams, in addition to the pressure on the country’s water resources, this historical tradition is gradually being forgotten. However, from the results of this research, based on the statistics, it seems that the restoration of the ponds -with government support and with a modern design based on historical patterns- will provide the possibility of water supply for the residents of the region.
Keywords: Barka, Ab-Anbar, Islamic Period, Fars, Hormozgan.

Introduction
The relationship between water and the world of existence can be defined from two perspectives: one is quantitative and experimental sciences and the other is spiritual issues of life and knowledge. Iran is considered one of the dry tropical regions of the world due to its special geographical position and very scattered unevenness’s and the influence of other factors. With this description, being located in the dry and water-scarce regions of the world, water has always had a high value and dignity in Iran, and for this reason, many advances and innovations have emerged in the field of water extraction and transportation. Among the most important of these developments, we can mention aqueducts, reservoirs, dams and weirs, as well as other types of structures and management operations that have been used. Therefore, the creative solutions of human connection with water have played a remarkable role in alleviating harsh natural conditions and in the meantime, the construction of water reservoirs has become popular in the extremes of Iran and water reservoirs have been built in many cities. Reservoirs with their interesting architecture are usually built in arid, desert and semi-arid areas to store rainwater more than in other places.
Iran’s governments in Islamic eras, with emphasis on issues related to hygiene and purity, built water reservoirs as an essential element in the lives of Muslims in or near mosques. And they became more common near them, with the evolution, development of agriculture and trade in this era, the construction of water reservoirs in villages led to the development of village, and as a result, the increase in population along the caravan roads led to the expansion of roads. It became commercial and accordingly it became commercial. At the same time with the development of Islam in different countries and the expansion of cultural exchanges, thanks to the blessing of the religion and the unified central government, construction techniques developed a lot. Construction of cylindrical-shaped tanks became common in Iran during this period due to the relatively low cost of construction and the greater resistance of its body against water pressure. Perhaps the method of making spherical or conical domes appeared in Iranian architecture from this period and for this reason. During this period, with the emergence of new cities and neighborhoods, reservoirs were placed next to mosques, schools, markets and government palaces like centralizing elements, and therefore it seems that reservoirs were a place for various social interactions. One of the prominent features of the city in Islamic era was the facilities such as mosques, bazaars, reservoirs, aqueducts, etc. The reservoir in the center of the neighborhood or city, in addition to providing water, is an excellent sign of There was a need for urban social life, for this reason, these buildings were sometimes built as a complex, such as a caravanserai complex, a reservoir, a guard house, a watchtower, and a refrigerator. The main passages or alleys sometimes branch off and lead to one or more houses. In addition to the possibility of reaching the neighborhood centers and the city center, the crossings also provide the possibility of quick and easy access to water reservoirs.

Conclusion
The lifestyle of Iranians, especially with the end of the Qajar period, became different from the past, one of which is fresh water piping. At the same time, the management of water resources in local ways caused the economic prosperity of the country based on the existing surface resources and underground water tables and the lack of pressure on them. Water cisterns have been a historical investment from the distant past, which, in addition to drinking, have also been used for industrial and agricultural purposes. Considering that currently one of the management problems is still the supply of drinking water in different regions of the country, it is suggested to provide part of the water problems of arid and semi-arid areas by restoring water reservoirs and creating examples of them in larger dimensions. Since the biggest management problem of water is its production, the past taught us that even in places where the underground water table is salty and there is no permanent river on the surface of the earth, fresh and pleasant water can be produced with some measures, and these methods will bring prosperity to the population and Roads have been expanded and the population has increased. Today, the experiences and techniques of the past should be used with today’s science to develop country and prevent consequences of dehydration and drought. Therefore, this article is a proposal in which the Ministry of Energy;  Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts; Ministry of Agriculture; Ministry of Roads and City Planning; Iran Water and Power Resources Development Company; Country Water and Wastewater Engineering Company; Iran Water Resources Management Company;  Organization of forests, pastures and watershed management of country; And, of course, local communities play a significant role in maintaining and building water reservoirs as water storage tanks.

Abstract
the beaches and hinterland of the Persian Gulf are a large part of southern Iran, which has been of interest throughout history, and many settlements have been formed in thispart of iran. This semi-closed sea has a great value in terms of natural and economic situation and military and political situation Just as the economic and social life of Mesopotamia depends on its two waterways, the Tigris and the Euphrates, and just as the Nile River plays the main and key role in the history of Egypt, in the same way the Persian Sea can be considered an important and vital bottleneck of history and civilization and Iran’s economy. Over thousands of years, this azure and fertile sea has opened its arms to   Iranians and other neighboring nations like a table full of blessings, so that the residents of its shores can benefit from its diverse reserves. The present research has focused on the introduction of pottery objects known as Gopal, which are found in abundance in the southern part of Iran, especially in the beaches and hinterland of the Persian Gulf. In this research, two library methods and field visits to some areas of the studied area have been used to collect information. The main questions of the present research are: To what period of time can the Gopals be dated? What is the use of Gopal? In what areas are the Gopals distributed? In addition to introducing Gopals and examining their technical features, the use and relative dating of these objects are discussed and the distribution map of these objects in the plateau of Iran is presented.
Keywords: Gopal, Persian Gulf, Iranian Plateau, Khuzestan, Bushehr, Hormozgan.

Introduction
As a historical and strategic waterway, the Persian Gulf has always been the focus of rulers and throughout history, it has been the place of passage for the ships of Eastern and Western civilizations. The coast of the Pars Gulf is a suitable habitat for the settlement and establishment of human societies. In recent years, as a result of the archaeological surveys of the beaches and hinterland of the Pars Gulf, many prehistoric, historical and Islamic sites and hills have been identified. Among these, a number of ancient sites and mounds of clay objects have been found, which are called Gopal. The present research has studied these objects that are scattered on the banks and back banks of Pars Gulf.
Research questions: In this research, the most important questions include: 1- In what regions is the range of distribution of clay objects known as Gopal? 2- Are Gopals produced in the northern part of the Persian Sea? 3- Do these objects have different types in terms of appearance? 4- Gopals belong to what period of time? 5- What is the use of Gopal?

Gopal classification
Clay objects known as Gopal are clay cylinders whose height varies between 15 and 30 cm and their weight varies between 1 and 4 kg. The upper part of the Gopals is round with a diameter of 10 to 17 cm and the lower part is saucer-shaped with a diameter of 6 to 12 cm. Their floor is rough and uneven, but they are stable to be on the ground. Williamson has introduced the Gopals with the title of base and divided them into four categories, Gavbandi type, Bushehr type, Ganaveh type and Tepe Yahya type (Williamson 1972: 100). According to technical specifications and appearance, Gopals were classified into 9 types. But since this study is mostly in the form of a library and the distribution area of Gopals has not been fully investigated in the field, it is possible that there are more and different species that are hidden from the authors of this study.

Distribution of Gopal in the Persian Gulf
The basis of the study of the distribution of Gopals is the study of survey reports, records and field studies (Table 1) that have been published and published so far, as well as the authors’ visits to a number of sites on the beaches and hinterland of the Pars Sea. The distribution map presented in this research is the beginning of a way to carry out additional studies in the field of these clay objects in the future and undoubtedly has some shortcomings (map 1). The distribution of this pottery was in the beaches and hinterland of the Persian Gulf as Louis Pelly says: they are found along the coast (Pelly 1863-1864: 44). Hertzfeld He writes: “Along the shore, under the ruins of early Islamic houses, large quantities of clay handles are found, which are called Gopals, and are introduced as flakhen, (Herzfeld 1926: 260).
The most distribution of Gopal in Behbahan city is in Zidon section. The Gopal area in the south of Omidieh belongs to the middle Islamic centuries, of this Gopal as “Clay base” (Sadeghi Rad 2018).
In Bushehr province, the distribution of these pottery objects increases significantly and they are found in abundance in almost all of the province. Gopals of different types have been reported from the grounds of Sarkho Castle, Shahzadeh Mohammad Darvishi in Shanbeh and Tasuj sections of Dashti city (Zarei 2018: 143).
In the north-west of Fars province, two samples were introduced from Tell Ahangaran and Tell Khazaneh in Noorabad Mamsani in the study of Askari Chavardi, the first sample is Gopal made of stone. In the west of Fars, in the area of Fathabad in Sarmashed of Kazeroon city, in the research of Parsa Ghasemi, broken samples of Gopal clay were reported, which are “scattered in the plowed lands” (Ghasemi 2010: 327-327).  In the southern part of Fars province, the distribution of Gopals is more and these objects have been reported from six sites. Golrokh hill is located in Chahorz district, Lamard city, (Askari Chavardi, Amiri: 2002) A small round base was found on the surface of Tape Yahya, probably from the second period (Achaemenid period). This type, which is scattered throughout the Jiroft region, can be easily distinguished from the 3D type, and it may be considered the background of the Sassanid foundations.” (Williamson 1972: 100) and in the southern part of the Persian Sea, he refers to Al-Ain in Abu Dhabi, where Bushehr-type clay foundations are scattered there (ibid.).

Examples similar to Gopal
In terms of the overall shape and appearance of the Gopals, there are similarities with objects such as decorative studs obtained from Chaghazanbil, and probably those who consider these objects to be architectural decorations because of the similarity between There were Gopals and studs (Figure 13).
The example of a fire pit (Figure 14) which Mustafavi believes is related to the Seleucid period (Mustafavi 1968: 71) or the base of fire pits made of stone or plaster from Weigal (Javari and Bagh-Sheikhi 2019), Plang-Gard (Alibeigi 2012: 201), Shian (Moradi 2009), Bandian Derghez (Rahbar: 2008), Imamzadeh Mohammad (Askari Chavardi 2010), Tell Shahid, Keshto village and Brazjan (Tawfiqian 2017) and the images of firetemple on the coins of Sasanian kings. , have general similarities with Gopal (Figure 14).
Williamson introduces a type of wooden bases that are painted and were used for Bushheri or Kuwaiti boxes, and these clay bases are the background of wooden bases (Williamson 1972).
A type of tallow burners that became very popular in the Islamic period (Wilkinson 1973) are examples similar to Gopal. Two stone objects have been found from Imamzade Abdullah in Shushtar, which Ahmad Eghtari refers to as fire pits or the base of fire pits belonging to the Parthian period. He classified them except Gopal (Eghtari 1996: 703-702). (Figure 15). Unglazed candlesticks with a similar design have also been found in Merv (Wilkinson 1973: 314) (Figure 15). In Hormozgan province, there is a type of embroidery called Shakbafi, for its weaving and production, they use a tool similar to gopal, called Choghn. A cloth is placed on it (Figure 16). The material of this mortar is sometimes wood and sometimes clay or plastic, which is actually considered a support for a pillow and a base for weaving a tape” (Mokhtari-Dehkordi, Asadi Farsani 2013: 39).

Dating and use of Gopal
Without conducting detailed experiments and extensive and methodical studies, the dating of Gopals will be relative, it is also necessary to know the use of these clay objects in the hills and areas where they are widely produced and used. Methodical archaeological excavations should be carried out. There are many theories and assumptions about the use of Gopals. Lt. Col. Lewis Pelley, says about the Gopals: “I picked up some spirally grooved cylinders of baked clay. Traditions say that these cylinders were the ones that the infidels used to use a leather strap to attack. They threw targets” (Pelly 1863-1864: 44). After pointing out Poly’s opinion and its illogicality, Haynes Gaube mentions these objects as architectural decorations and the limitations of this assumption are listed, including why they are found in Siraf but not in Khuzestan? (Gaube 1980: 384). Herzfeld believes that the use of Gopals is similar to the Assyrian clay studs, whose ends were placed in Diora (Herzfeld 1926: 260). Williamson believes that the Gopals were used as bases for holding wooden chests known as Bushheri or Kuwaiti chests, and later they were replaced by painted wooden bases (Williamson 1972: 101).
Parsa Ghasemi believes that these terracotta objects had an architectural use, similar to the columns used in the Achaemenid building of Dahane Gholaman (Ghasemi 2009: 86). Askari Chavardi mentions clay Gopals as the base of Sasanian vessels (Askari Chavardi 2012, Askari Chavardi 2018) and the type of stone that he considers as the base of the hearth (Askari Chavardi, Pots, Pitri 2013: 149-148).
During a conversation with the residents of Shahr-e Viran in Dilam city, they stated that the nomads use these pieces of clay for weaving ni-chit (Chiq or Chikh) (Figure 17), and it was believed that these tools are used for production Nothing has been used. Kamiyar Abdi believes that these clay objects have industrial use (Abdi 2007).

Conclusion
During this research, the existing Gopals were classified into 9 categories according to their appearance and technical characteristics, their exact typology requires a systematic archaeological investigation in the distribution area of Gopals in the banks. And then the beaches of the Persian Glf. The present studies showed that Gopals are mostly found in the sites related to the Sassanid and Islamic periods.
According to the terminology of Gopal or Gopal, it is not true that this pottery object has a war function, and probably only according to its appearance, they put the name of Gopal or Gopal on it. According to examples similar to Gopal used in the art of embroidery, the assumption that Gopal was probably used as a tool used in sewing or weaving industries. According to the classification done, Gopals probably had various uses. As long as the Gopals are not recovered from their context, determining any use for this clay object will be more of a hypothesis.