Qanat-e Zarch North Extension (Yazd Zarch Qanat Northern Arm)
قنات زارچ شمالی · Zarch North Arm · Northern Zarch Gallery
Achaemenid core 500 BCE to Sasanian 450 CE (extension) to present·Yazdi Zarch piedmont oasis (Kavir piedmont)·🇮🇷 Yazd Province, Yazd–Zarch County, Zarch North Extension 6.2 km north of Zarch village (Zarch Yazd north), Iran
About
About Qanat-e Zarch North Extension (Yazd Zarch Qanat Northern Arm)
Northern arm extension (1,180 m elevation) of Qanat-e Zarch 6.2 km north of Zarch village, Yazd plain, adding 8.2 km gallery with 88 shafts (mother well 34 m) tapping Shirkoo piedmont aquifer north of main Zarch 71 km system. Gallery 1.1 m wide 1.8 m high with 92 inspection shafts including 6 ventilation towers 8 m high (badgir-like). Flow 18 L/s feeding Yazd northern Meybod gardens 34 ha. Construction Sassanid expansion 450 CE grafted onto earlier 500 BCE core (charcoal in extension mortar 450 CE). Still operating UNESCO tentative via Persian Qanat system. Threatened by Yazd urban water table drop 1.8 m.
Why it mattersNorthern graft proving phased qanat growth 500 BCE→450 CE — duplication as urban water security, badgir ventilation innovation.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Badgir towers functional ventilation vs symbolic — why 8 m
Theories
- 01Sasanian urban growth Yazd required duplicate north tap
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.500 BCE core + 450 CE Sasanian extension 450 CE
- Period
- Achaemenid core 500 BCE to Sasanian 450 CE (extension) to present
- Culture
- Yazdi Zarch piedmont oasis (Kavir piedmont)
- Builders
- Zarch Sasanian extension engineers (Yazdegerd era)
- Purpose
- Northern piedmont tap 8.2 km duplicate gallery 18 L/s to Yazd northern Meybod gardens — dual system
- Abandoned
- still operating
- Rediscovered
- 2016 Persian Qanat UNESCO 5207 Zarch 71 km; 2022 north extension tower survey
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
500 BCE
Core Zarch 500 BCE main
450 CE
North extension Sasanian 450 graft 8.2 km
2016
Persian Qanat UNESCO 5207
On the ground
Structures & features
32.0200° N · 54.5200° E · 1180 m · 2 mapped features
Mother Well North (34 m)
structure34-m mother well north Shirkoo piedmont with windlass
32.0250° N · 54.5150° EBadgir Ventilation Tower (8 m)
structure8-m badgir tower 6 total — ventilation for gallery 450 CE
32.0210° N · 54.5210° E