Ali-Sadr, Iran's unique water cave - Hamedan

The world's largest water cave, Iran's Ali-Sadr, is a unique natural phenomenon, which attracts millions of visitors every year.

The Ali-Sadr cave, which is located 75km to the northeast of the city of Hamedan, lies in the Subashi Mountains of Kaboudar-Ahang.

Upon entering, visitors see a vast area that leads them through a wide path onto a wharf where they must take a boat to continue their tour.

Visitors then move through a number of labyrinthine halls, ending in the 'Island', which is located 350 meters from the wharf.

More than 11 kilometers of the cave's water canals have been discovered so far. Some routes are 10 to 11 kilometers long and all lead to the 'Island'.

Icicle-shaped lime decorates the ceiling of the magnificent cave in some parts.

The steady dripping of mineral-containing water has created beautiful red, purple, brown, green and blue lime pillars in the shape of cauliflowers, needles and umbrellas.

Excavations and archeological studies of the cave have led to the discovery of ancient artworks, jugs and pitchers dating back to 12000 years ago.

The animals, hunting scenes and bows and arrows depicted on the walls and passages of the exit section, suggest primitive man used the cave as their abode.

The 70 million-year old cave which was first discovered by Iranian mountaineers in 1963, is visited by some 80,000 tourists annually.

Hamedan Province, which was once one of the centers of the Persian civilization, is located in the mountainous part of western Iran.

عکسهای غار هانگ ان در ویتنام

عکسهای غار هانگ ان در ویتنام که از آخرین اکتشافات غارنوردی جهانی است و رکورد های حجیم ترین ورودی و تالارهای جهان را شکسته است.
 در توضیحات آمده که در فصول پرباران آب تا 91 متر بالا می اید که محلی که اکنون غارنوردان بر روی سنگها ایستاده اند پوشیده از آب خواهد بود.

Going underground, expedition members enter Hang En, a cave tunneled out by the Rao Thuong River. Dwindling to a series of ponds during the dry months, the river can rise almost 300 feet (91 meters) during the flood season, covering the rocks where cavers stand.

Source: Nationalgeographic

بازتاب اخبار انتخابات انجمن در سایت های خارجی

بازتاب اخبار انتخابات انجمن غارنوردان و غارشناسان ایران رادر سایت کیور اینفو از لینک زیر مشاهده کنید

http://www.caverinfo.com/2011/03/first-official-icsa-poll/

First official ICSA-POLL

After a year of effort and persistence by the board of founders selected by Iranian cavers, finally the ICSA (Iranian Cavers & Speleologists Association) got registered as an official NGO.

On the eve of March 3, more than a hundred cavers from all around Iran along with elder and veteran cavers like Changiz Sheikhli,Ahmad Marefat, Heshmat Heidarian, Taher Zahedi, Kiomars Babazadeh, Mohammad Nouri and Hamid Sedighian celebrated the revival of a genuine caving organization. Changiz Sheikhli, a veteran caver aged 83, organized the first caving organization in Iran, Iran Speleologists Association, in 1946.

 

On March 4, with presence of 106 registered members the first official poll was held and the first board of directors and inspectors were chosen.

Board of directors: Javad Nezamdoost, Yousef Vaghef, Abbas Ghaderi, Majid Saghafi, Saeed Hasheminezhad

Alternate members: Ebrahim Beiramian, Alireza Balaghi

Inspectors: Arash Neghafi, Alternate Inspector: Mehradad Haji Hashemi

The board of directors will be in office for 2 years and the inspectors for 1 year.

Source:Persian Cavers

Ancient irrigation methods an admirable innovation

Water has always played a key role in the long history of IRAN. Iranians are credited for qanats and the invention of Persian wheel, two ancient irrigation systems which are well known in the world. According to hereto the Greek historian, Qanat digging technique was documented and was practiced in the achaemenids era (550_330 BC) 2500 years ago. Remains of reservoirs have been discovered along with water intakes, spilwaysand outlets and the sewage systems belonging to pre_achamenids and Assyrians (1500-600 BC).
The archaeological surveys suggest that Iranians enjoyed advanced culture and civilization some 7000 years ago. The civilization of in the western part of Iranian plateau flourished 5000 years ago and they invented cuneiform writing . Discoveries prove that Iranian were peaceful and ingenious people in third millennium BC who cultivated cultivated land and raised crops and livestock.

 

Khaju bridge & diversion dam, Isfahan province, Age 354 years

In general , there have been four methods of in irrigation in Iran .

These four methods are listed as cisterns or water reservoirs, channels, canals, weirs and dams. Conventional wells were drilled vertically by means of manual tools and equipment's and the water content of these wells was discharged for utilization by men or through the use of herbivorous animals . Ancient Iranian perceived the process by which artesian well originated knew how they could be brought under subjugation.
However full utilization of the aforementioned well was not accomplished in the past, Furthermore excess precipitation was stored in certain locations known as cistern or water reservoirs, in the form of covered structured ,filled with water ,can be observed in vicinity of salt desert , and hot arid plains in south of Iran which are utilized for provision of water demands of villages and caravans.

 Bahman weir dam, Fars province, Age 2000 years 

Dam construction in Iran dates back to sassanian era, at the time of king shapur I. The dams made at that period are 1300 –1700 years old. A regulating dam and a bridge diversion dam(500 meters long with 4 spans) in shushtar are among these dams.
Amir dam constructed by buyids dynasty 35 km north of shiraz is 1000 years old. this three-purpose dam (irrigation ,bridge and mill) still exist and functions. During the safavids empire (1501-1736) water engineering developed significantly and many storage and diversion dams and bridges were constructed in Esfahan and Mashad of which some still exist.

 

 Fariman weir dam, Khorasan province, Age 400 years

General characteristics of old dams in Iran:

As proved by the recent studies , Iranian carefully considered the three basic factors i.e. site selection , foundation condition and construction materials . In all cases they fully observed all design and technical requirements and circumstances in the dam site and site selection. Topography, river regime, material availability and river diversion during construction were also profoundly attended to. Types of Ancient Dams:
All Iranian ancient dams are considered of following masonry types. Gravity dams:
Studies indicates that all the design criteria considered in the recent design of gravity dams were taken into the consideration in the design of Iranian ancient dams. saveh and sheshtaraz dams which are over 700 and 900 years respectively are examples of this type. Arch dams:
Iranian perceived the high bearing of arches before Romans . Kebar and Kerrit dams over 700 and 400 years old respectively are both arch dams. Buttress dams:
Akhlemad dam with a crest length of 230m , height of 12 m and reservoir capacity of 3 million cubic meters and Fariman dam, 400 years old , are both buttress dams. Both dams are still under operation.

 Golestan weir dam, Khorasan province, Age 300 years

 Amir dam, Fars province, Age 1000 years

The under ground water channels , the so called "Qanat" was by the large the most important method Of irrigation in many parts of Iran.
In view of the scarcity of rivers in many regions of the country and With consideration that the number of perpetual rivers was highly scanty the ancient Iranian chivied an admirable innovation known as "QANAT" or "CAREEZ" approximately 3000 years ago.

This highly important and incomparable initiative was transferred from middle east later transferred From middle east to north Africa , Spain and Cecil for further exploitation. The records on the Iranian's "QANAT" in the achaemenian period can be found in the writings of Greek historian . Consequently , it can be asserted that this irrigation technique dates back to the prechaemenian period . There also exist historians records in Qanat in the parthians and sassanids.

Qanat (3000 year ancientness)

A symbol of Iranian Identity and National skill in Irrigation
Name : Fahraj Qanat (Subterranean Canal)
Length(km) : 20
Depth(m) : 50
Location: Yazd Province

Copyright © 1994-2000 IRCOLD. All rights reserved.

Source:

New Death Ritual Found in Himalaya—27 De-fleshed Humans

In high cliffside caves, explorers find 1,500-year-old bones.

 

Climber Pete Athans removes a skull from an eroded cliffside cave in Nepal's Mustang region last year.

Ker Than

for National Geographic News

Published March 1, 2011

The remains of 27 ancient men, women, and children have been found in cliffside caves in Nepal. Many of the bones bear cut marks that point to a previously unknown Himalayan death ritual, experts say.

The corpses—many of which had been stripped of flesh—were placed in the high mortuaries some 1,500 years ago, the team announced Friday.

Nearly 67 percent of the bodies' had been defleshed, most likely with a metal knife, say the researchers, who found the remains in 2010.

After the de-fleshing process, the corpses had been neatly laid to rest on wide wooden shelves, the researchers speculate. But due to centuries of exposure to the elements, the bones and bunks—and much of the caves themselves—had collapsed by the time the team entered the chambers.

Also in the jumble: goat, cow, and horse remains—perhaps sacrificial offerings for the dead, though their purpose remains a mystery.

Dug into characteristically reddish cliffs of the Upper Mustang district, the human-made caves lie at 13,800 feet (4,200 meters) above sea level, high above the village of Samdzong (Mustang region map).

In ancient times, rock outcrops and probably ladders would have eased access to the caves. Since then, however, erosion has rendered the chambers accessible to only expert climbers, such as seven-time Everest summiter Pete Athans, who co-led the team.

"Clues to when these caves were built, and by whom, are melting before our eyes," Athans said in a press statement. "The cave tomb we found is under great threat. It is situated in a fragile rock matrix that has already collapsed some time in the past. I don't believe the tomb would've lasted one more monsoon."

(Related: "Himalaya Honey Hunters Cling to Cliffside Tradition.")

De-fleshed, With All Due Respect

Little is known about the three ancient Himalayan groups that de-fleshed and entombed their dead in the high Mustang caves, making the motives behind the rite even murkier. The team has, however, ruled out cannibalism.

"When you're going for meat, you process a skeleton in a very different way than if you were trying to strip the flesh off," explained project leader Mark Aldenderfer, an archaeologist at the University of California, Merced.

"In cannibalism, the base of the skull is often smashed [to get at the brains], and bones are broken and twisted, usually for marrow. There's nothing like that in any of the bone parts that we recovered. ...

"This was done in a respectful fashion," added Aldenderfer, who received partial funding from the National Geographic Society's Committee for Research and Exploration. (The Society owns National Geographic News.)

Preliminary DNA analysis of some of the bones suggests the de-fleshing subjects were related.

"I would imagine that many of these mortuary caves are for large extended families," Aldenderfer said.

"This would be their traditional burial place, and another family would have their own."

(Related: "World's Biggest Cave Found in Vietnam.")

Secondhand Rite?

Aldenderfer and his team think the practice of de-fleshing corpses and entombing them in caves might be a previously unknown bridge between two other known death rituals.

One, the Tibetan sky burial—thought to have originated several hundred years later—involves dismembering a body and exposing it to the elements and to scavengers such as vultures. Present-day Tibet is just 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the cave tombs.

The other funerary rite is older and hails from the Zoroastrian religion, which has its roots in ancient Persia (now Iran). Zoroastrians, Aldenderfer said, "are known to have de-fleshed their dead and fed the flesh to animals."

Ancient people living in the Upper Mustang region may have adopted funerary rituals of passing Zoroastrians as they traveled west, Aldenderfer said. These rites, in turn, may have transformed into, or inspired, the Tibetan sky-burial ritual.

That idea, according to anthropologist Mark Turin, who wasn't part of the project, is "an interesting and perfectly workable hypothesis."

(See Nepal pictures.)

Bloodstained Landscape

The new finds are only the latest to be uncovered in the remote cliffs.

In the 1980s a Nepalese-German team discovered cave tombs dating back about 3,000 years. The human remains in those caves hadn't been de-fleshed, however.

And in 2009 the team behind the new discovery announced they'd found a cliff-cave trove of Tibetan art, manuscripts, and skeletons dating back to the 15th century. (See pictures of the 2009 Mustang-cave finds.)

In addition to the newfound mortuary caves, Aldenderfer's team has found nearby caves that were created later, likely for use as living spaces.

"I don't think the people who built those 'apartment complexes' actually knew that those mortuary caves were nearby," Aldenderfer said.

Turin, director of the Digital Himalaya Project at the University of Cambridge, said he's not surprised that people have been repeatedly drawn to the Upper Mustang cliffs, despite the challenges.

In fact, the cliffs' isolation may have been an important part of their allure. Many of the local beliefs that have been practiced in the region, including Buddhism, place great value on the idea of religious retreat, Turin said.

"Monks can now practice and reside in monasteries, but we're talking about long before the establishment of any monastery," he said.

"These [caves] may well have been proto-monastic places ... and as such, people might retreat or bury their dead there."

Also, Turin said, ancient people may have felt tied to the landscape in a way that might be hard for many modern Westerners to understand.

Even today, "a well-known story is in circulation about the taming of the territory. ... When the Buddhist saints came up and slew the local deities, their blood and [body parts] stained the Earth and created the colors" of the landscape, Turin said.

"The religious culture that exists in people's minds can be mapped onto the landscape. This means that the landscape is sacred, and that caves and places of retreat are similarly sacred."

The new Mustang-caves finds are to be covered in an upcoming National Geographic documentary, to air in the U.S. on PBS.

First Official Annual Meeting of ICSA

Dear all our friends,
On March 4th, the first official annual meeting of ICSA (Iran Cavers & Speleologists Association) will be held in Tehran. More than hundred cavers and speleologist from all over Iran will participate.
However, this gathering is different from all previous ones.On the eve of March 3rd Iranian cavers will also celebrate the registration of ICSA as an official NGO in Iran

As we said before:

Speleology has no boundaries.We are all citizens of underground world where friendship and fraternity rules."