Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System

A complex of canals, dams, tunnels and water mills built in Sasanian times on the Karun River and in operation until the middle of the twentieth century. Its foundations were laid under Shapur I in the third century and, as tradition has it, the work was done by captured Roman engineers taken after the defeat of the emperor Valerian — hence the Roman masonry technique in certain sections. The river is blocked by a dam, part of the flow is diverted into the Gargar canal cut through the rock, and the water falls from ledges onto the wheels of mills hewn directly into the stone. Below the cascades are catchment basins, tunnels for draining off the excess, and bridges. The system not only ground grain but also supplied the town and the surrounding fields with water, while the drop in height was used to cool the air in underground chambers. Since 2009 the site has been on the UNESCO World Heritage list. In the evening the cascades are lit, and the water on the ledges reads better than by day.

Address

Emaam Khomeiny (West), دهستان سردارآباد

On the map