Siahgel Fire Temple, Eyvan

🕰️When was it built?

Its architecture, pottery and other finds tie the building to the Sasanian era. Vanden Berghe, the Belgian archaeologist, identified it, and it was added to the National Heritage List in 2000 as number 2793. The shape of the main building should be kept apart from the walls of the site that have been lost.

🏛️What was it built for?

Siahgel is known as a fire temple and a place for religious rites. The central space, the fire holder and the passage around it are tied to this role. Fire held a sacred place in Zoroastrian worship, and the building is a chance to understand the architecture of these ritual spaces.

👀What you will see

• Four doorways on the four sides of the building; from outside, see how the central space opens in every direction.
• The stone walls are built of rough, undressed cobbles with gypsum mortar; the uneven texture of the stones is clear in the walls.
• The central space is about five by five metres; look from a safe path at how it compares with the height of the walls.
• Look at the holes in the upper part of the building; they may have let smoke out, but their use is not certain.
• The tall San Yari rock in the Gangir river stands opposite the fire temple, with a shorter stone beside it.

🎒Good to know before you go

• The fire temple is outside the town of Eyvan, near Sartang; ask someone who knows the area about the way there before you set off.