Archaeological Excavations at Qal'eh-i Yazdgird: Gach Gumbad West

The historical complex of Qal'eh-i Yazdgird is located in the Ban Zardeh basin in the district of Dalaho in Kermanshah Province, western Iran. The whole monumental complex is mentioned under the name of Qal'eh-i Yazdgird, which is one of the defensive forts of the complex. The other significant sites of the complex include Jay-e Dar and Gach Gumbad (Maydan).Prior to archaeological excavations conducted by Edward J. Keall, two Orientalists, Sir Henry Creswicke Rawlinson and Colonel E. I. Tchirikov, made visits to the site. Keall initially suggested the Sasanian date 5th A.D, for the entire complex; however, subsequent to the first season of excavations he came to realize that the complex contains archaeological sites from Parthian, Sasanian and Islamic periods. Keall’s excavations, which will be referred to as “Joint Expedition” in this paper, were abruptly terminated following the Iranian Islamic revolution in 1979. Given the significance of the excavated materials within Parthian Iran, the Iranian expedition resumed the archaeological excavations at the site in 1386/2007.This article sets out to explore the results of the excavations conducted at Gach Gumbad West. It also provides a full description and analyses of the architectural characteristics of the building, as well as its tentative reconstruction. In addition, the article aims to compare the form and layout of architectural units 1 to 8.