ATHAR
Year:2023 | Volume:44 | Issue:2|Papers Count:7

The history of architecture in Lorestan remains shrouded in ambiguity. This uncertainty likely stems from the lack of comprehensive and targeted studies on its architectural heritage. The Ourchin dome of Imamzadeh Ja‘far, located in the cold region of Borujard, possesses   architectural characteristics typically found in the warm and rainy regions of southwestern Iran. Both architectural evidence and inscriptions suggest numerous interventions in the building across different periods. Therefore, studying this architectural monument in depth is crucial. With this objective and the assumption of a Seljuk period foundation, efforts were made to investigate the early period, construction stages, and pattern of the Imamzadeh Ja‘far tomb’s Ourchin dome. Through an examination of the architectural structure, archaeological excavations, inscriptions, and comparative analyses with similar structures, the research aimed to re-evaluate the building’s structural changes and identify its construction periods using a descriptive/analytical methodology. Key questions addressed  included the tomb's basic plan and structure, construction timeframe, and the nature of its Ourchin dome design. The research concluded that the main building originated as a Seljuk-era tomb tower with an octagonal plan. Subsequently, during the Ilkhanid period, the structure was reinforced with the addition of buttress. Interestingly, the dome pattern drew inspiration from the cypress-shaped Ourchin domes prevalent in southwestern Iran.

The purpose of this research is to identify the original calligrapher and date the Nastaliq inscriptions on the portal of the Masjed-e Jame-e ʿAbbāsi (Imam or Royal Mosque) of Isfahan. The portal walls of this building contain four Nastaliq inscriptions. The text of these inscriptions has been read in previous studies, but their historical authenticity has not been investigated. In this research, by examining and comparing these inscriptions with each other and also by exploring historical photographs, the historical authenticity of the mentioned inscriptions has been investigated. Then the original calligrapher and their exact date have been discussed. The method of this research is archaeological document research, and it proceeds with library study and field investigation, and analysis of historical photos. This research reveals that the two frames of the Nastaliq inscription on the eastern wall of the portal are not historically authentic, and Adib Majlisi, the calligrapher whose name is on these inscriptions today, is not a calligrapher from the Safavid period, but a contemporary one. Also, relying on historical evidence, this research proposes two hypotheses about the original calligrapher of these inscriptions. The first hypothesis, relying on the construction technique of the inscriptions and also components of the calligrapher's signature, introduces Alireza Abbasi as the calligrapher of the inscriptions. The second hypothesis, relying on the similarity of the Nastaliq inscriptions of the northern porch of the Atiq courtyard of Imam Reza's (AS) shrine with the inscriptions under discussion, introduces Mohammad Reza Emami as the calligrapher of the mentioned inscriptions. Based on these two hypotheses as well as other historical evidence, this research dates these inscriptions around 1616 or to one of two periods, from 1629 to 1631 or 1666 to 1667.

Iran has a significant number of cultural heritage properties, built in different periods, which have given the country a cultural and social identity and a privileged historical character. Some of these properties are unparalleled in their values so that they have been inscribed in the World Heritage List. With 26 cultural and natural WHs, Iran is among the top ten countries with the most inscribed World Heritage Sites. However, due to the conflict and multiplicity of management methods and the lack of conservation management principles based on the indigenous context, many issues and problems have arisen concerning the sustainable protection of the mentioned sites. Therefore, identifying and evaluating the Iran's world heritage challenges in the first step is one of the main priorities for the process of their conservation management. This research has tried to analyze and evaluate the challenges of Iran's world heritage preservation management using a descriptive-analytical method, and it includes library-documentary and field data. Different methods and tools of content analysis, fieldwork and statistical analysis have been applied to analyze the findings. The results from identifying and evaluating the challenges of conservation management through the distribution of questionnaires among the World Heritage Site Managers and statistical analysis indicated that out of the 54 identified main challenges, 18 challenges related to the physical, technical and executive context, 6 challenges related to the economic and financial context, 7 challenges related to the socio-cultural context, 7 challenges related to the political context, 6 challenges related to the legal context and finally 10 challenges are related to the environmental context of sites management. So that more than 50% of the country's World Heritage Sites face all challenges and more than 70% also meet many of these challenges.

Iran is among top countries worldwide in terms of architectural heritage, and it has been located in an earthquake-prone region. To this end, preservation of historical buildings is of critical importance. The first task to address this issue is to determine the structural elements of the building as well as the mechanical properties of its materials and evaluate its response to earthquakes. The Ghadaki house is attributed to the middle period of the Qajar era in the nineteenth century and was recently included in the group of buildings belonging to Tabriz Islamic Art university. This research is focused on the seismic assessment of this structure and proposes appropriate retrofitting methods to improve its seismic performance. The subject is studied in three main steps, The researchers of Tabriz Art University have used non-destructive tests to preserve the originality of the building, and in this research, the results of these tests, which include the compressive strength of the building prism and the modulus of elasticity, were used. These values are equal to 0. 43 and 843. 9 MPa respectively. Then, a seismic safety analysis has been performed by 3Muri software, which uses an equivalent frame model to model masonry walls. The seismic safety index of this building was obtained to be less than 1, which means the structure lacks enough safety. In the last step, we propose three different methods for retrofitting and it was recommended to use all three methods simultaneously, which results in an improved seismic safety index lying between 2 and 4. 45.

The architecture of Guilan is a collection of diverse patterns that have evolved based on the needs of the inhabitants, thermal comfort, and climate. In this architecture, open levels and semi-open spaces hold significant importance and have greatly influenced the variety of its forms. It appears that, apart from climatic considerations, these elements have had an impact on the proportionality and aesthetics of Guilan's indigenous housing. In this article, we examine the relationship between these elements and visual proportionality and aesthetics, as perceived by experts, in the patterned houses of Guilan based on three different climatic divisions: plain, mountainous-hillside, and coastal. Proportionality is examined through the analysis of proportional systems, basic modules, multiple proportions, and the golden ratio, while aesthetics are assessed based on five variables: balance, beauty, transparency, uniformity, and unity. The research findings indicate that mountainous-hillside climate samples have achieved the highest scores in terms of aesthetic variables and the system for evaluating proportionality. Additionally, the selected houses from each category include Moradi House (plain area), Behzadi House (mountainous-hillside area), and Mousavi House (coastal area), all of which have obtained high evaluation scores.

The art of petrolyphs has been intrest to human societies for a long time. One of the prominent areas of rock art in the south of Kerman province is Tang Mordan in Faryab city. On the way to this valley, various motifs have been carved, including human, scorpion, dog, goat, bird, fish, leopard, lion, moon and obscure motifs. There are engravings on the rocks or big stones of the riverside, which seems that the artists of this gorge intended to tell stories. In order to understand the concepts and meanings of these motifs, it is necessary to know the symbolic components that once had a specific meaning in ancient cultures, just like verbal language. and interpret with a scientific method. The main goal of this research is to classify Tang Mordan rock motifs and analyze their meaning based on the iconographic method, and it seeks to answer the question, what is the meaning and concept of the Tang Mordan petroglyphs from the point of view of iconography? The research method for documenting the motifs is field and library observation with a historical and analytical approach, based on examining the details and drawing style of the motifs. So far, it is not possible to accurately date these motifs with the help of laboratory methods, and only with the traditional comparative approach and content analysis of the motifs, a relative history for these motifs can be proposed.

Identity is one of the concepts that has a wide range of meaning in human sciences and is studied by researchers in most different branches of human sciences including psychology, sociology and philosophy. The importance of this issue is that it is impossible to find a person or an object that lacks identity. Based on this, the current article is the results of the studies conducted with the theoretical framerelic of social identity, the branch of social sciences in international documents related to the preservation and restoration of historical-cultural monuments. For this purpose, the research method of content analysis was chosen to be able to analyze a large number of related documents. The documents under review are 28 international documents related to the years 1969 to 2023. In order to conceptualize identity and its relationship with the protection and restoration of historical-cultural relics, international documents in the field of cultural heritage were analyzed. The documents were coded and categorized, this helps to extract and analyze issues related to the concept of identity faster and more accurately. The results of the content analysis carried out in these documents are in the two main branches of identity definition and the relationship between identity and protection. This issue helps to define the identity of a historical-cultural relic and use it as a tool to determine the policy of protection and restoration of historical works. used culturally. The results of the studies in this research state that there is a two-way relationship between preservation and restoration and the identity characteristics of the work. Each one affects the other, so by studying the identity characteristics of the work and its definition, it can be used as a tool to determine the policy of protection and restoration of historical-cultural works.