Shush Castle

Shush Castle stands on the summit of the acropolis of ancient Susa and looks like a medieval European fortress, although it was built at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It was raised by the French archaeological mission under Jacques de Morgan: the expedition needed a fortified dwelling and a store for its finds, since the excavations were going on in unsettled country. It was built in 1897-1912, and the material was brick from the neighbouring ancient structures, from the Achaemenid palace of Darius and from the ruined ziggurat of Chogha Zanbil, which by present-day standards would be unthinkable. The plan, with towers, battlements and an inner courtyard, repeats the Crusader castles of Syria, familiar to the French from the Middle East. It was from this building that the stele with the laws of Hammurabi and other finds from Susa were shipped to the Louvre. Today the castle is used by the archaeological service and rises above the excavation of the ancient city and above modern Shush.

The castle is occupied by the archaeological service and is normally closed to visitors, so it is looked at from outside, from the acropolis hill above the excavation of ancient Susa, next to which it stands. It is combined with a visit to Susa and the Tomb of Daniel a couple of steps away.

Address

طالقانی, دهستان حسین آباد

On the map