Gavmishan Bridge (Gumishe: breeding site for cows)

The Gavmishan Bridge was built on the Seimareh River 30 km northeast of Darreh Shahr on the border of the two regions Lorestān and Ilām. This bridge which is part of the constructions of the Sassanid era, is about 175 meters long, almost 8,2 meters wide and has 6 arches. The width of the supports or the distance between them varies between 2/5 and 25 meters. The width of the main arch of this bridge is 33,7 meters and its opening with over 50 meters in width is the largest in Iran. This bridge has five large arches of which only one has remained intact. The main materials of which it is composed are bricks and stones. The foundations and main supports of the bridge are circular and thick and it was built with large smooth cubic stones of equal size following the “rag chin” technique (row upon row). The interior of the foundations was also filled with stones and plaster mortar and the ceiling of the arches was also built in brick. The pointed arches and passages are all made of bricks measuring 20 × 25 centimeters and the façade of this bridge has closed and open arches and breakwaters that join through corridors with a few steps. The presence of steps in the center of the corridor of the central pillar shows that the bridge not only had a connecting function but was also used by caravans as a refuge. This bridge was restored in 1008 (Lunar Hegira) by the famous governor of Ilām and Lorestān Hossein Khān Bozorg and later in 1334 (Lunar Hegira) suffered heavy damage due to the earthquake. The ogival brick arches and the other stone restorations of the present facade of the bridge demonstrate its reconstruction in the period of the Otābkān Lore kuchack (name of a Lorestān dynasty) and in the arches we note the restoration work of the Safavid and Qajar periods .