Shahpour Cave

Iran Shapur ancient cave, Kazeroun county غار باستاني شاپور شهرستان كازرون ايران

March 15, 2018 (Persian calendar 1396/12/24)

Fars province (استان فارس)


Kazeroun county (شهرستان كازرون)


Shapur cave (غار شاپور)


Shapur cave (غار شاپور) Geo coordinate
29°48′12″N, 51°36′41″E

Shapur cave/ Shapour cave (Persian: غار شاپور‎) is located in the Zagros Mountains كوه هاي زاگرس, in southern Iran, about 6 km from the ancient city of Bishapur بيشاپور.

This cave is near Kazerun in Chogan valley, which was the site of polo (Persian čōgān چُوگان), in the Sasanian period دوره ساسانيان.

In the cave, on the fourth of five terraces, stands the colossal statue of Shapur I شاپور يكم, the second ruler of the Sasanid Empire. The statue was carved from one stalagmite. The height of statue is 7 m. and its shoulders are 2 m. wide, and its hands are 3 m. long.

About 1400 years ago, after the invasion of Iran by Arabs and collapse of the Sasanid dynasty, this grand statue was pulled down and a part of one of its legs was broken. About 70 years ago, again, parts of his arms were also broken.

The statue had been lying on the ground for about 14 centuries until 1957 when upon orders of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi a group of his military men to raise it again on its feet and fix his foot with iron and cement.

The project of raising the statue, building the roads from Bishapur to the area and paths in the mountain, stairs and iron fences on the route to the cave took six months in 1957.

The length of cave entrance is about 16 m., with a height of less than 8 m.Behind the statue, in the depth of the cave, are three ancient water-basins. At both sides of the statue, the rock-walls of the cave were prepared for reliefs by leveling, but the reliefs were never made.

It is said that in addition to this giant statue of Shapur I, the tomb of this great man is also situated somewhere in this cave. Another legend— according to the local belief—indicates that Shapur, being defeated in a battle, ran into this cave and was lost ever since and his body/remains have never been recovered.

See also these related videos:

[Persian]


[English]

Iran Shapur I ancient cave, Kazeroun county غار باستاني شاپور يكم ساساني ايران

March 20, 2018 (Persian calendar 1396/12/29)

Fars province (استان فارس)


Kazeroun county (شهرستان كازرون)


Ancient Shapur I cave (غار باستاني شاپور يكم)
29°48′12″N, 51°36′41″E

Heaving from the thin, high altitude air and adrenaline pulsing through your veins, this is a feeling that mountaineers are quite familiar with. And the joy of it all is the reward you get at the end.

The reward could be a panoramic view, or in this case, a magnificent statue at the entrance of a cave that’s about 800 meters above ground-level, in the Chogaan Valley دره چوگان, in the province of Fars استان فارس, in Iran.

The entrance to the Cave of Shapur I شاپور يكم is about 30 meters wide and 15 meters high. It has been named so because of the Colossal Statue of Shapur the 1st, the 2nd Sassanian King دومين پادشاه ساساني, that’s been standing guard at the cave entrance for more than 1 thousand, 5 hundred years.

***

Shapur cave/ Shapour cave (Persian: غار شاپور‎) is located in the Zagros Mountains كوههاي زاگرس, in southern Iran, about 6 km from the ancient city of Bishapur. This cave is near Kazerun in Chogan valley دره چوگان, which was the site of polo (Persian čōgān چُوگان), in the Sasanian period دوره ساسانيان.

In the cave, on the fourth of five terraces, stands the colossal statue of Shapur I شاپور يكم, the second ruler of the Sasanid Empire. The statue was carved from one stalagmite. The height of statue is 7 m. and its shoulders are 2 m. wide, and its hands are 3 m. long.

About 1,400 years ago, after the invasion of Iran by Arabs and collapse of the Sasanid dynasty, this grand statue was pulled down and a part of one of its legs was broken. About 70 years ago, again, parts of his arms were also broken.

The statue had been lying on the ground for about 14 centuries until 1957 when upon orders of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi a group of his military men to raise it again on its feet and fix his foot with iron and cement. The project of raising the statue, building the roads from Bishapur to the area and paths in the mountain, stairs and iron fences on the route to the cave took six months in 1957.

The length of cave entrance is about 16 m., with a height of less than 8 m. Behind the statue, in the depth of the cave, are three ancient water-basins. At both sides of the statue, the rock-walls of the cave were prepared for reliefs by leveling, but the reliefs were never made. It is said that in addition to this giant statue of Shapur I, the tomb of this great man is also situated somewhere in this cave.

Another legend - according to the local belief - indicates that Shapur, being defeated in a battle, ran into this cave and was lost ever since and his body/remains have never been recovered.

See also these related videos:

[Persian]


[English]

[Wikipedia] Shapur cave

Shapur cave/ Shapour cave (Persian: غار شاپور‎‎) is located in the Zagros Mountains, in southern Iran, about 6 km from the ancient city of Bishapur. This cave is near Kazerun in Chogan valley, which was the site of polo (Persian čōgān چُوگان), in the Sasanian period.
In the cave, on the fourth of five terraces, stands the colossal statue of Shapur I, the second ruler of the Sasanid Empire. The statue was carved from one stalagmite. The height of statue is 7 m. and its shoulders are 2 m. wide, and its hands are 3 m. long.
About 1400 years ago, after the invasion of Iran by Arabs and collapse of the Sasanid dynasty, this grand statue was pulled down and a part of one of its legs was broken. About 70 years ago, again, parts of his arms were also broken. The statue had been lying on the ground for about 14 centuries until 1957 when upon orders of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi a group of his military men to raise it again on its feet and fix his foot with iron and cement. The project of raising the statue, building the roads from Bishapur to the area and paths in the mountain, stairs and iron fences on the route to the cave took six months in 1957.
The length of cave entrance is about 16 m., with a height of less than 8 m.Behind the statue, in the depth of the cave, are three ancient water-basins. At both sides of the statue, the rock-walls of the cave were prepared for reliefs by leveling, but the reliefs were never made. It is said that in addition to this giant statue of Shapur I, the tomb of this great man is also situated somewhere in this cave. Another legend— according to the local belief—indicates that Shapur, being defeated in a battle, ran into this cave and was lost ever since and his body/remains have never been recovered.





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Sasanian Pictorial Art: The Colossal Statue of Shapur I (University of Basel, 2005)

With a group of archaeologists (Archaeological Institute of the University of Basel), I made in November 2005 and March 2007 two field trips to the Cave of Shapur located in the south of Iran, near the ancient city of Bishapur. All these pictures in this video clip are made in November 2005 and show the Cave of Shapur and also the colossal sculpture of the Sasanian king Shapur I.

The colossal statue of Shapur I standing in this giant cave, formed the center of my doctoral dissertation. I already published the German, the English and also the Persian version of my dissertation.

Link to the GERMAN VERSION:


Link to the ENGLISH VERSION:


Link to the PERSIAN VERSION:


My special thanks go to:
Anna Laschinger, Rebecca Loeb, Ornella Hess, Michael Wenk, Simon Graber and Daniele Furlan.

My sincere thanks are also due to:
Prof. Dr. Rolf A. Stucky (University of Basel), Prof. Dr. Antonio Loprieno (University of Basel), Prof. Dr. Philip G. Kreyenbroek (University of Göttingen), Prof. Dr. Othmar Jäggi (University of Basel) and Dr. Georg Gerster, the aerial photographer of the ancient city of Bishapur.

Music of this clip:
Glass: Akhnaten, Act 1, Prelude: Refrain, Verse 1, Verse 2
Philip Glass (Composer), Dennis Russell Davies (Conductor), The Stuttgart State Opera Orchestra & Chorus (Orchestra)

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پیکره شاپور یکم، هنر سنگتراشی و پیکره سازی در دوران ساسانی، غار شاپور، بیشاپور، ایران

Rainy Road Ride

Road ride biking under rain from Shiraz to Kazerun & Shapour Cave.
Total distance: around 170 Km. Total time of cycling: about 10 hrs.