Mohammadreza Nemati, Mehdi Mousavinia, Eberhard Sauer, Carlo G. Cereti. “Largest Ancient Fortress of South-West Asia and the Western World? Recent Fieldwork at Sasanian Qaleh Iraj at Pishva, Iran”

The vastness of the monument known as Qaleh Iraj (1.6 x 1.3 km!), close by the modern Tehran, raised many questions on its chronology and function. Was it the ancient Ray, the four-corner city of Varena, a park for royal hunt, or a fort? In this paper, the results of surveys, excavations, satellite imagery, and textual analysis are combined to provide answers. In terms of domestic architecture, just a clay floor on a cobblestone bedding had been found within the vast intramural area. The defe..