Temple of Anahita

Temple of Anahita

The temple of Anahita it is located in the city of Kangāvar (Kermānshāh region). The construction of this historic temple which was located on the ancient Ecbatana Ctesiphon street (today's Hamedān-Kermānshāh) has been attributed to the Arsacid and Sasanian era.

It seems that its construction began in the Achaemenid era, the work continued until later times and during the Sassanids came to an end.

The temple of Anahita-dea and protector of water and abundance, of beauty and fertility among the Iranians - is square in shape and is located in an area of ​​about 6,5 hectares above a not very high stone slab on a rock overlooking the plain.

This complex includes the following parts:

1-The walls around the building

To level the building with the rock on which the temple rests, the architects and builders behind the walls used a mixture of stucco and mortar, so it was created around it a platform of the thickness of 18 stone meters and plaster mortar covered with polished stones.

These platforms created a large space where to place thick columns that had a duty to protect the water goddess.

2-Entry stairways

The 154-meter long double-entry stairways that ran up to a roofless space were on the same level as the main temple platform; besides these there were also steps in another corner of the building.

3-The columns of the temple

The most beautiful part of the building are columns whose remains on the walls still testify to the magnificence of the temple. In their simplest form they consisted of three parts, the base, the trunk (half of the column) and the capital.

Since no trace of the ceiling was found in the temple of Ānāhitā, these columns were most likely used only to surround the building and define the limit for uncovered platforms.

Some archaeologists consider their presence a reason to attribute this building to the Sassanid palace of Khosrow Parviz and not to a temple.

4-Platforms in the building

At the center of this building was built a long stone platform 94 meters, 9,30 wide and high from 3 to 4 meters formed by large debris and at least one side of it was smooth. A platform with a stucco facade of which now, except a part in the wall, no trace can be seen.

In addition to this, there are the remains of two other platforms. It is thought that on one of them there was a building chahārtāghi.

- Objects found in the temple of Anahita

Among the objects and tools found in this monument we can mention the coffins relating to the sepulchers of the Parts and the objects inside them like oil lamps, coins buried with the dead, bronze blades, bracelets, gold earrings, crockery in terracotta (dating back to different periods) etc .. besides the things mentioned, were also found rock inscriptions on the walls and on some there were names such as: Pirus, Piruz, Pir, Shahrivar, Kherat (Kherad) etc .. and forms such as: hooked cross, star, sun, wild goat, war chariot and wheel, geometric designs of plants and in particular a large amount of images of fish, water and fish, anchor of the ship and so on.

Many historians and explorers have mentioned the temple of Anahita or the palace of Khosrow Parviz in different volumes and this shows its importance and antiquity.

The temple that has suffered natural disasters and numerous destructions by man and awaits inclusion on the UNESCO list of the world, today is considered among the tourist attractions of the area.

In Iran of the goddess Ānāhitā there are testimonies such as the temple and the inscription in the ancient city of Bishāpur in the province of Kāzerun and in the village of Hossein Ābād in the district of Khanāmān of the city of Rafsanjān.

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