Photo: DJ ViCTiM — CC BY-SA 3.0 — Wikimedia Commons

Band-e Darreh Dam

🌉 Square, bridge or landmark

Bagheran mountains, south of Birjand

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Band-e Darreh is a historic dam in the Bagheran mountains south of Birjand, capital of South Khorasan Province. Built in the middle of a valley, it is both an old structure for holding water and one of the popular outing spots around the city.

When was it built?

The dam was built on the order of Amir Shokat al-Molk in 1294 AH (1877) and is one of the buildings of the Qajar era. In 2002 it was added to Iran's National Heritage List as number 4816.

What was it built for?

The structure is a dam for holding water in the valley and was built on the sediment layers of the riverbed. The name Band-e Darreh, the Valley Dam, comes from the water flowing through the valley above and below, not from the name of a builder or ruler.

What you will see

The dam wall, built at a suitable point in the valley and following the natural grooves of the mountain.
The outer brick facing, over a core built of stone, brick, lime and sarooj.
The crest of the dam, about thirty-one metres long and three to five metres wide in different places.
The thicker wall at the base, given as about eight metres wide, which narrows towards the crest.