Temple of Anahita, Kangavar

The Anahita Temple () is the name of one of two archaeological sites in Iran popularly thought to have been attributed to the ancient Iranian deity Anahita. The larger and more widely known of the two is located at Kangāvar in Kermanshah Province. The other is located at Bishapur.

The remains at Kangavar display Persian architectural designs. The plinth's enormous dimensions for example, which measure just over 200m on a side, and its megalithic foundations, which echo Achaemenid stone platforms, "constitute Persian elements".Arthur Upham Pope. Introducing Persian Architecture. Oxford University Press. 1971. p.28 This is thought to be corroborated by the "two lateral stairways that ascend the massive stone platform recalling Achaemenid traditions", particularly that of the Apadana Palace at Persepolis.Ball, Warwick. Rome in the East: The Transformation of an Empire London, New York, Routledge, 2000, , p.330-331

Another Iranian construction is the Khurra mausoleum in Markazi Province.

Dispute on identity

Dispute exists among scholars on the correct identity of the main structure at the site. p. 206-207 The Encyclopædia Iranica in this regard concludes:Iranicaonline.org - KANGAVAR

Excavation first began in 1968, by which time the "large structure with its great Ionic columns set on a high stone platform" p. 326. had been associated with a comment by Isidore of Charax, that refers to a "temple of Artemis" (Parthian Stations 6). References to Artemis in Iran are generally interpreted to be references to Anahita, and thus Isidore's "temple of Artemis" came to be understood as a reference to a temple of Anahita.

Consequently, it has been commonly believed that the site was a "columnar temple dedicated to Anahit."Arthur Pope, Persian architecture; The triumph of form and color, George Braziller, New York, 1965, p.46 Karim Pirnia, one of the proponents of this theory, believes that the construction belongs to the Parthian style, which underwent renovations in the Sasanian era.Karim Pirnia, سبک شناسی معماری ایران (A study into the classification of styles in Iranian architecture), 2004, Me'mar publications, , p.105 Warwick Ball considers the structure "one of the greatest works of Parthian architecture" which has an "eastern Roman Temple form", with the architectural emphasis being on the temenos.Ball, Warwick. Rome in the East: The Transformation of an Empire London, New York, Routledge, 2000, , p.330 As with Arthur Upham Pope (1965, 1971), Ball (2001) also agrees that the temple architecturally "recalls Achaemenid traditions".Ibid These and a number of other scholars continue to examine the site as being possibly attributed to the deity Anahita.Among these one can name: Ernst Herzfeld. Reference for his paper in German given in: Fard, S. K. "The Anahita Temple Kangavar. Archeological Excabvations and Surveys: The reconstruction and architectural restoration of the Nahid temple and Tagh-e Gera" 1996. Tehran For a detailed list of other scholars, refer to the references given in: Ball, Warwick. Rome in the East: The Transformation of an Empire London, New York, Routledge, 2000,

In 1981, a report by an excavator of the site, Massoud Azarnoush however contended that the construction "did not have the necessary characteristics that could identify it as a temple". Ali Akbar Sarfaraz, former head of the archaeology team of the Tehran University, shares this opinion. The popular theory held by this group is that the ruin is of a "late Sasanian palace." p. 332.

Finally, a third group contends that the site was originally constructed in the Achaemenid era, and underwent several phases of construction. Of this group, one can mention archeologist Seifollah Kambakhshfard.Link: http://www.aftab.ir/articles/art_culture/cultural_heritage/c5c1148139987p1.phpLink:

Dispute on date of construction

Originally, 200 BCE was proposed as the date of the site's construction. "Under the Parthians any observable western influence can just as well be a survival from the Hellenistic period, which is why the monument at Kangāvar was once acceptably dated as early Parthian while recent investigations proved it to be late Sasanian." p. 328.

In this regard, Warwick Ball however states:Ball, Warwick. Rome in the East: The Transformation of an Empire London, New York, Routledge, 2000, , p.332

Anahita Temple at Bishapur The Temple of Anahita at Bishapur, "was probably built by Roman prisoners, is well masoned of ashlar blocked walls, and with trapezoid shaped doorways."Ball, Warwick. Rome in the East: The Transformation of an Empire, London, New York, Routledge, 2000, p.117

See also Iranian architecture Temple of Anahita, Istakhr Firuzabad (Gôr), thought to have an Anahita temple, with Pillar of Gor possibly being a component Qadamgah (ancient site), possibly a (post)-Achaemenid religious place related to the Waters

References

Temple of Anahita, Kangavar

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