Event: Pizza Talk: "Achaemenid Stone Towers and Recent Excavations at Pasargadae, Iran"


Date & Time

January 24, 2018 - 12:00pm to 1:00pm
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Contact Information

Mathew Swanson
mswanson@ioa.ucla.edu

Location

Fowler A222

Event Type

Pizza Talk

Event Details

Speaker: Dr. Ali Mousavi, Lecturer, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, UCLA

The World Heritage site of Pasargadae, in southern Iran, is the first dynastic center of the Achaemenid Empire in the 6th century B.C. Pasargadae’s palaces, gardens and the mausoleum of Cyrus the Great are outstanding examples of the first phase of royal Achaemenid art and architecture. The ruins of a solitary stone tower, known by the local name of Zendan-e Suleiman (prison of Solomon), dominates the Palace area at Pasargadae. The function of this tower and its counterpart at Naqsh-e Rustam, near Persepolis, has been the object of various studies. The towers, however, defy any convincing interpretation. The results of recent excavations at Pasargadae seem to shed some light on the function of these towers.