Comparative comparison of the architecture of the Sassanid fire temple and the fire base discovered from Vigol and Harâskân with other Sassanid religious buildings

Abstract

Religious monuments from ancient period has played an important role in the formation of spatial structure of cities and villages. Archaeological excavations and available historical evidence show that religious sites in historical periods, especially theSassanid period, have been one of thecenters of people for religious ceremonies. One of the important findings of archeological excavations in Isfahan province is areligious building called Vigol fire temple, which was found in excavations of M.Javari in 2010,in 10 kilometers southeast of AranandBidgol cities. The materials of this building is unlike with other buildings of its age andhas cross-shaped and cruciform plan. In middle of the Vigol fire temple, a fire base consisting oftwo square platforms and agypsum columnar stem with spoon-shaped grooves is made ofgypsum and rubble. In thisregard, thepresent article hasbeen discussed and analyzed with theaim of recognizing andcomparing the architectural aspects of Vigol fire temple with some fire temples in different regions. Therefore, the present study isbased onthe purpose of basic research and based onthe nature andmethod, historical and analytical research; The required information has been collected through two methods ofdocumentary andfield studies and istrying to answer theleading questions: 1. Isit possible to prove its use as a fire temple based on the evidence left from the architecture of this building, andwhat kind of fire inthis fire temple was lit according tohistorical sources? 2. Has thearchitectural plan ofthe Vigol fire temple followed a specific pattern?
The results showed that th analysis and comparison of the architectural style of Vigol fire temple with other contemporary Sassanid examples shows the similarities of this work such as architecture orfire base inits construction has used a pattern similar to Sassanid examples andwith the presence ofneighboring architectural remains, including the twirling Corridor, canbe considered theuse of a fire temple forit. Also, due to the degree of fire inthis period, the fire that was worshiped inthis place wasprobably of the local fire type (Âdorân).