Eshaqvand/Sakavand

Q3469362

Eshaqvand or Sakavand: site of a late-Achaemenid rock relief.

The relief at Eshaqvand (cast at Taq-e Bostan)
The relief at Eshaqvand (cast at Taq-e Bostan)

There are three ancient rock tombs at Sakavand, half way between two towns called Deh Now and Chaman Esmael, some eighteen kilometers south of Behistun. They are simple, nothing but square holes in the face of the rock. The central one, however, is decorated with a relief of a praying man who is about 1.87 meters high. He may or may not be a Magian. In front of him are smaller figures, about half his size.

The interpretation is not uncontested, but it is interesting to notice that the large figure is almost identical in shape to the figures at Dukkan-e Daud. and Naqš-e Rustam.

Getting there

Eshaqvan from a distance
Eshaqvan from a distance

Take the main road from Behistun to Kermanshah and turn left after Blowerdi. After five kilometers, there's a bridge; immediately after it, turn right. Follow this road to Paasar (about thirteen kilometer); turn left. Deh Now is after 2½ kilometers and the reliefs are visible after another 1½ kilometers.

References

Eshaqvan Rock Tombs
Eshaqvan Rock Tombs

The relief is included as #32 in Louis Vanden Berghe's Reliefs rupestres de l’Iran ancien (1984).

This page was created in 2009; last modified on 11 August 2020.