Investigation of the Dome-Like and Arched Structures with Sustainable Masonry in Sassanid Architecture (Case Study: Mushkan Fire Temple)

Architecture and structures’ sustainability date back to several thousand years ago in Iran. Iranian architecture has created countless historical buildings in a vast territory in the course of centuries and it has been able to solve complex structural problems and create magnificent architectural masterpieces. The structures of the roofs, domes and mosques and other edifices are all signs of the proper interaction between the architectural principles and structural behavior therein. Iran’s Islamic architecture is the natural continuation of the Sassanid Era’s architecture and the recognition and study of it can pave the way for us to identify the Islamic period’s architecture and its various aspects. Sassanids’ architecture was highly capable of erecting vaulted and dome-like covers on square substructures and their method of constructing domes was spread and continued in various regions. Moreover, the effect of religion in the architectural designing of this period and the existence of Zoroastrianism caused the creation of different fire temples the remnants of which have been found in Fars, Kermanshah, Ilam, Kerman, Khorasan and other provinces. The present study investigates Mushkan fire temple as a case study in Chardavol County. Therefore, the present study has been conducted with the objective of investigating the structural stability and method of the construction of four-dome and vaulted structures in Sassanids’ era through the use of library resources and documents and also by relying on a descriptive-analytical method and field studies. The results obtained from the present study indicated that the use of sustainable masonry, including stone, lime-ash or sand plaster and gypsum, as well as methods of constructing four-dome structures and vaults and dissipation of force on four pillars are amongst the reasons for the structural stability in Mushkan Fire Temple.