World Heritage Identification Number: 1208
World Heritage since: 2004
Category: Cultural Heritage
Transboundary Heritage: No
Endangered Heritage: No
Country: 🇮🇷 Iran (Islamic Republic of)
Continent: Asia
UNESCO World Region: Asia and the Pacific
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Bam and its Cultural Landscape: An Oasis City in the Heart of Iran's Desert
Bam and its Cultural Landscape, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004, is a captivating testament to human ingenuity and resilience in one of the harshest environments on Earth – the Iranian desert. Situated on the southern edge of the Iranian high plateau, this ancient city has a rich history that spans over two millennia.
More to come…UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site
Bam is situated in a desert environment on the southern edge of the Iranian high plateau. The origins of Bam can be traced back to the Achaemenid period (6th to 4th centuries BC). Its heyday was from the 7th to 11th centuries, being at the crossroads of important trade routes and known for the production of silk and cotton garments. The existence of life in the oasis was based on the underground irrigation canals, the qanāts, of which Bam has preserved some of the earliest evidence in Iran. Arg-e Bam is the most representative example of a fortified medieval town built in vernacular technique using mud layers (Chineh ).
UNESCO Justification of the World Heritage Site
Criterion (ii): Bam developed at the crossroads of important trade routes at the southern side of the Iranian high plateau, and it became an outstanding example of the interaction of the various influences.
Criterion (iii): The Bam and its Cultural Landscape represents an exceptional testimony to the development of a trading settlement in the desert environment of the Central Asian region.
Criterion (iv): The city of Bam represents an outstanding example of a fortified settlement and citadel in the Central Asian region, based on the use mud layer technique (Chineh) combined with mud bricks (Khesht).
Criterion (v): The cultural landscape of Bam is an outstanding representation of the interaction of man and nature in a desert environment, using the qanats. The system is based on a strict social system with precise tasks and responsibilities, which have been maintained in use until the present, but has now become vulnerable to irreversible change.
Encyclopedia Record: Bam, Iran
Bam is a city in the Central District of Bam County, Kerman province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. The modern city surrounds the ancient citadel which has a history dating back to around 2,000 years ago. The citadel is a popular tourist attraction and a world heritage site. Before the 2003 earthquake, the official population count of the city was roughly 43,000.Additional Site Details
Area: Not available
(iii) — Unique or exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition
(iv) — Outstanding example of a type of building or landscape
(v) — Outstanding example of traditional human settlement
Coordinates: 29.11683 , 58.3666666667
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© auoob farabi, CC BY-SA 3.0 Resized from original. (This derivative is under the same CC BY-SA license.)
