Qanat of Zarch, Yazd
قنات زارچ · Qanat-e Zarch · Zarch Longest Qanat
Achaemenid to present ~700 BCE–present·Persian (Median/Achaemenid onward)·🇮🇷 Yazd Province, Iran
About
About Qanat of Zarch, Yazd
Longest qanat in Iran at 71 km with 2,115 shafts, feeding Yazd city from Shirkouh mountains. Dug reputedly 3,000 years ago (700 BCE), still with 30 L/s flow. Zarch mother well 90 m deep with payab step shafts every 20 m. UNESCO Persian Qanat serial 2016 (criteria iii,iv). Qanat includes wind-tower (badgir) houses fed by qanat water.
Why it mattersLongest functioning qanat globally; type-site for Persian Qanat UNESCO serial.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Shaft spacing irregularity cause – fault avoidance vs labour organization
- 02700 BCE dating via shaft fill vs mother well timbers
Theories
- 01Zarch as urbanism foundation prerequisite
- 02Qanat technology diffusion to Oman aflaj via land vs sea
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.700–500 BCE (reputed), documented 700 BCE
- Period
- Achaemenid to present ~700 BCE–present
- Culture
- Persian (Median/Achaemenid onward)
- Builders
- Persian qanat kanigan engineers
- Purpose
- Subterranean aquifer gallery delivering mountain water across desert to oasis city
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
c.700–500 BCE (reputed), documented 700 BCE
Initial construction
c. 1285 CE
Abandonment
On the ground
Structures & features
31.8970° N · 54.3670° E · 1220 m · 2 mapped features
Zarch Mother Well
well90 m deep head shaft in Shirkouh foothills
31.8200° N · 54.2500° EYazd Old Town Outlet
outletQanat outlet with badgir houses
31.9000° N · 54.3680° E
Gallery