Tehran, 26 December 2006 (CHN Foreign Desk) -- No one ever knew that the dawn of 26^th of December 2003 would be the dusk of the ‘Pearl of the Desert.’ A massive earthquake razed the Iranian city of Bam in the southeastern province of Kerman which brought the city to ruins, leaving more than 26,000 dead and many homeless.

 

The U.S. Geological Survey reported the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.7, capable of causing severe damage, and hit at 5:27 a.m. local time. The earthquake destroyed more than 60 percent of the residential areas in the town of Bam, a city of 80,000 people, including its historical areas.

 

The 2000-year-old Bam Citadel, the largest adobe complex in the world, was leveled to the ground in less than 30 seconds by the earthquake, accentuating the tragic incident.

 

Located 200 kilometers south of Kerman, the ancient Bam Citadel, or Arg-e Bam as called by the natives, is made entirely of mud bricks, clay, straw and the trunks of palm trees.

 

Due to lack of adequate studies on the origin of Bam, not much archeological information exists about the Bam Citadel during the pre-Islamic period - that is before 651 AD. However, the name of Bam has been mentioned repeatedly in historical documents since 1000 years ago. Most historians refer to the story of Kerm-e-Haftvad (the Haftvad Silkworm) in Shahnameh, when dating the foundation of Bam.  

 

Based on a story in ‘Book of Deeds of Ardeshir Babakan’ inspired by Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh, by conquering Kerman and Bam, Ardeshir Babakan, the Sassanid King killed the Kerm-e Haftvad at the Bam Citadel. The gigantic worm burst with a big bang noise, which rocked the area and destroyed the Bam Citadel completely and killed most of its inhabitants, thus the city was named “Bam” for the sound of the blast.

 

There are various ideas on the date and reasons for the construction of the Citadel. Some historians believe that the Bam Citadel was built in the Parthian dynastic era (248 BC- 224 AD) while others say that the Citadel was originally founded during the Sassanid dynastic period (224-651 AD) with residence there continuing until the Qajar era (1787-1921 AD). However, there is no conclusive evidence as to its time of construction.

 

The oldest strata of the Citadel dates back to 6th century BC. The city’s heydays are said to have been the 7th to 11th centuries AD. What is mainly known today about the history of this massive adobe structure is that it was built sometime before 500 BC and was inhabited until 1850 AD. However, no one knows for sure why it was abandoned.

 

According to the latest excavations at the site, 13-cm mud bricks dating back to the Parthian Dynasty prove that the Citadel is about 2,250 years old. Studies also revealed that the Bam Citadel and the main fortification walls are pre-Islamic in their original form and date back to 521 BC. However, based on the existing archeological remains of the area, most importantly Bam Citadel, experts date it probably back to the time of the Parthian or Sassanid dynasties, or even earlier.

 

Unfortunately, more than 80 percent of this magnificent citadel along with much of the Bam’s historic landmark collapsed when a massive earthquake hit the city of Bam on December 26, 2003. The impact of the Bam earthquake was far more devastating than that which would be expected from a moderate-magnitude earthquake and this is what attracted the attention of the world to this region.

 

Though 80 percent of the Citadel has been demolished, experts believe that it is repairable and thus restoration works started immediately after the earthquake to bring the Citadel back to its ancient glory.

 

A year after the earthquake, Bam Citadel and its cultural landscape were registered by UNESCO in the World Heritage List during the 28th session of the meeting of UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee in China and was placed in the list of World Heritage in Danger to provide Bam Citadel more opportunity to receive the Organization’s support. The decision to register Bam Citadel attracted world attention to the earthquake-shattered Iranian heritage and a lot of efforts both technically and financially were made to restore this unique adobe monument.

 

Restoration works on the historical Bam Citadel started immediately under the supervision of ICHTO and UNESCO by an exact assessment of the destruction, documentation and a projection of the necessary facilities and budget.

 

Several teams of experts in areas of architecture, restoration, documentation and archeology were sent to the area to start the analysis work and setting up of a restoration center near the Citadel.

 

The cooperation of several countries in the reconstruction of Bam Citadel with Iran’s Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization and UNESCO has changed this project into an international one. Japan, Italy, and France are among countries which started their cooperation with this project from the very beginning. World Bank also granted a large sum of money to this project. On the other hand, UNESCO has supported Iran in this mega project from the very beginning.

 

Japan granted some 1,300,000 US dollars to Iran for the reconstruction of Bam Citadel. In addition, it has supported the Iranian government in this project by sending some equipments and creating the 3D plan of Bam Citadel to increase the accuracy of the renovation and salvation activities of the Citadel.

 

Italy funded 300,000 US dollars in the Salvation Project of Bam. It also dispatched a team of Italian experts to restore the Citadel’s main tower with laser scanning instruments to study the structure and design of this tower.

 

France’s Ministry of Culture and Communication also helped in providing a map of the Citadel with a 60,000 dollar aid

 

In the 29th session of UNESCO World Heritage committee held in Durban, South Africa in July 2005, UNESCO praised the so-far attempts of Iranian officials and international organizations helping in the project such as those from Japan and Italy.

 

Although reconstruction of Bam Citadel has shown a slow progress, significant achievements have been made in the past three years. On the other hand, experts believe that the accuracy in reconstruction of Bam Citadel to maintain its original structure is much more important than speed.

 

An adobe laboratory was set up close to Bam Citadel, trying to combine local, traditional, and modern findings to provide the best material for reconstructing the Citadel.

 

The main part of Bam complex is a complete city containing different parts including bazaar, different quarters, and an alcove part. There was an important Zoroastrian fire temple in the Bam Citadel which was later replaced by a mosque.

 

During the initial phase of the salvation project, large amounts of debris were removed which resulted in numerous archeological findings in Bam Citadel. Nearly 40,000 potsherds in a variety of colors and forms ranging in date from the fourth millennium BC to the Qajar period were found while transferring rubble and documenting this historical structure.

 

According to some archeologists, although the earthquake was terrible in almost every way, it was a blessing for archeology. It opened up the ground in a way that tens of archeologists working for decades would have been unable to do and brought to the surface the historical landscape beneath the fallen citadel, revealing a layered chronology.

 

After the earthquake struck on 26 December 2003, aerial photographs were taken to assess the damage. The pictures helped archeologists discover new sites, especially a highly sophisticated network of qanats, huge underground irrigation channels that stretch for several kilometers, having escaped the watchful eyes of archeologists until then. The system was functioning until the Islamic period, when they gradually dried out some 800 years ago as a result of foreign invasions and not being cleaned.

 

The significant discovery of a highly organized system of qanat (aqueduct) and ancient villages near Bam suggested a population concentration east of what is now Bam. Bam residents dug pools near faults that water would gather in, creating aqueducts to lead water to farms. As the qanats dried up and villages were abandoned, the residents had to move to near the 2,000 year old citadel, triggering a rise in construction in the citadel since some 800 years ago, which reached its height in the Qajar dynastic era.

 

Other archeological achievements during the salvation work while moving tones of debris out of the Citadel have been significant, including the unearthing of some 200,000 potsherds and several metalwork artifacts dating back 5,000 years ago, which have provided experts with new information on the history of the place and its relation to Southeast Asia.

 

Around 62 baby corpses have also been discovered in white coffins leading experts to believe that the citadel was under siege for one year during which people had to cope with difficult living conditions.

 

Some ancient hills and archeological sites were discovered which date back to the third and fourth millennium BC. A dozen villages and residential areas were also identified during the primary studies at Bam Citadel which were filled with pottery designed with geometrical and animal prints. Two underground cubbyholes and an ancient food storage room were also discovered in the Citadel.

 

The newly discoveries can be of great help in understanding the residential history of the area, and provide the archeologists with information on the social, political, cultural, and religious life of the ancestral residents of Bam city.

 

Various activities have been undertaken in the past three days in Bam Citadel including documentation, removing the debris, strengthening the remaining structure, constructing one of the most equipped adobe workshops in the Middle East next to the Citadel, and reconstruction and embellishment of the Citadel’s surrounding area.

 

Buying the residential houses in the vicinity of Bam Citadel and preventing the transition of heavy vehicles from the Citadel’s bridge are among other important measures taken for the protection of this World Heritage monument.

 

Although the dreadful earthquake in Bam and devastation of a 2000-year-old history in just a few seconds was a bitter experience for Iranians, it gave Iranian archeologists and cultural heritage experts a chance to learn through a network of international cooperation how such earthen monuments that are highly vulnerable to natural disasters can be preserved and restored to the extent that Iran has recently taken new steps to help its neighboring countries, especially the war-stricken Iraq, restore their ancient monuments.

 

 

Soudabeh Sadigh, Maryam Tabeshian

foreigndesk@chn.ir

 

 

View images of the magnificent Bam Citadel before and after the earthquake here