Great Wall of Gorgan
Date:
Late fifth to early sixth century
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
Iran
Dimensions:
approximately 200 km long
Description:
In the late fifth or early sixth century, the Sasanians built an enormous brick wall across Iran, from the Elburz Mountains to the ancient shoreline of the Caspian Sea. The very large red bricks, which measure 40 x 40 x 10 cm, were produced on site (one kiln has been found so far). To facilitate their manufacture, a 5-meter-deep water channel ran alongside the wall; to ensure regular flow, there was a complex system of supporting canals and a steady gradient. Along the wall's 200-kilometer length were at least thirty-six forts, capable of supporting 30,000 troops. The Great Wall presented a formidable obstacle to anyone attacking the fertile Iranian plains from the steppes to the north.
This astonishing feat of engineering was long thought to have been built by Alexander the Great or by the Parthian Empire (247 BCE–224 CE) and perhaps restored by the Sasanians. It has now been dated—by carbon-14 and by optically stimulated luminescence (which yields a brick-firing date)—to the Sasanian era. The consistent size of the bricks indicates the the wall was built in a single phase. A thirteenth-century Iranian historian attributed the wall to the shahanshah Peroz I (r. 459–84), at a time when the Sasanians were at war with the nomadic Central Asian Hephthalites (White Huns). Surprisingly, the Great Wall is not mentioned in any contemporary sources, and unlike the much shorter Hadrian's Wall in Britain, no coins and few artifacts have been found along its length.
This astonishing feat of engineering was long thought to have been built by Alexander the Great or by the Parthian Empire (247 BCE–224 CE) and perhaps restored by the Sasanians. It has now been dated—by carbon-14 and by optically stimulated luminescence (which yields a brick-firing date)—to the Sasanian era. The consistent size of the bricks indicates the the wall was built in a single phase. A thirteenth-century Iranian historian attributed the wall to the shahanshah Peroz I (r. 459–84), at a time when the Sasanians were at war with the nomadic Central Asian Hephthalites (White Huns). Surprisingly, the Great Wall is not mentioned in any contemporary sources, and unlike the much shorter Hadrian's Wall in Britain, no coins and few artifacts have been found along its length.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
1,
2
Repository and Online Resources:
• The Great Wall of Gorgan is under consideration for UNESCO World Heritage status.
• See additional photos by Amir Ali Razzaghi, Mehr News.
Image Credits:
Wikimedia Commons; Google Earth
Tags:
Western Asian,
Artistic production,
Ideology,
Sasanian,
War
