History unfolds with newly discovered tunnel

A stone-arched tunnel has recently been discovered near an Achaemenid embankment dam in southern Iran.

This 1.5-meters stone-arched tunnel has been found close to a historical dam that is named after the Achaemenid king Darius (the Great) in Marvdasht plain of the Iranian province of Fars.

With some 40 meters of the tunnel being explored so far, it is believed that the tunnel was once an aqueduct.

Embankment dams constructed during the Achaemenid era are believed by archaeologists to still be a source of inspiration for modern architects and engineers.

A case in this is Bostan Khani Dam which is registered in Iran National Heritage list as one of the engineer masterpieces of the Achaemenids.

Bostan Khani Dam was designed to contain floods and store water for public use as well as use in agriculture and horticulture.

As the largest and most durable empire of its time, the Achaemenid Empire was stretched “from Ethiopia, through Egypt, to Greece, to Anatolia (modern Turkey), Central Asia, and to India.”

MM/FM