By preparing the map and holograms of the prison and tomb of Cyrus the Great, these two unique monuments will stay alive in the memory of history forever.
Tehran, 22 June 2006 (CHN Foreign Desk) — Iran’s Parse-Pasargadae Research Center succeeded in providing the accurate 3D plan of the prison and tomb of Cyrus the Great in Pasargadae to keep an eternal perspective of these two unique monuments. This project was done in conjunction with Iran’s Astronomy Community and a team consisted of archeologists and Iranian and foreign experts.
“Concurrent with the Cultural Landscape Seminar which was held in Persepolis from 20th of May to 2nd of June 2006, a special meeting was organized by Dr. Ali Mousavi from University of Berkeley in California and some Iranian and foreign archeologists who had previously worked and studied on Pasargadae and Persepolis historical sites such as Dr. Stronach and Dr. Houf, during which they discussed the condition of the prison and tomb of Cyrus the Great and presented a map and 3D plan of these two ancient monuments,” said Dr. Shahriar Adl, archeologists and UNESCO’s counselor in Iran.
According to Adl, the monument which is known as the prison of Cyrus is something similar to Zoroaster’s Kaba which is in Naqsh-e Rostam historical site. Only one wall from one side of this prison has remained and the three others have been destroyed over time. This monument was on the verge of collapse; therefore scaffolds were set behind the only remained wall to prevent collapsing of this wall although the metal supports have somehow vulgarized the landscape of this monument, but it was the only way to save the remaining of Cyrus’ jail in shortest time.
“In order to strengthen and restore this historical prison, the remained stones should be detached and after strengthening them, we would stick them back together. Of course, this process many cause some harms to the monument. Therefore, to reduce the possible damages to the monument as much as possible, the map and hologram of this monument and the tomb of Cyrus the Great were provided with the support of Iran’s Astronomy Community. This will not only help us in protecting these two unique historical monuments forever, it will also keep a record of the original shape of these two monuments before their restoration so that the next generations would have a chance to see how the monument looked like before restoration process began,” added Adl.
Hologram is a laser photograph which makes a picture or image look life-like. The 3D plan of the monument has been provided with maximum precision and delicacy and will give archeologists a chance to observe all the details of this monument with computer.
Pasargadae historical site, which is registered in the List of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites was the first dynastic capital of the Achaemenid Empire, founded by Cyrus the Great, in Pars, homeland of the Persians in the 6th century BC.