Tang-e Boraq Aqueduct (Boraq Gorge Cliff Aqueduct)
تنگ براق · Boraq Gorge Aqueduct · Tange Boraq Canal
Sasanian to Kakuyid (450 CE, repaired 1050 CE)·Sasanian Zagros (Eqlid terrace farmers)·🇮🇷 Fars Province, Eqlid County, Tang-e Boraq Gorge, Iran
About
About Tang-e Boraq Aqueduct (Boraq Gorge Cliff Aqueduct)
Cliff-face aqueduct 18 km northwest of Eqlid (1,850 m) in Tang-e Boraq gorge, Zagros limestone gorge incised 85 m deep. Aqueduct is rock-cut gallery 420 m long, 0.6 m wide, 0.9 m high with mortared stone vault roof and 8 cliff-edge arch buttresses 4.2 m high carrying channel over recesses, feeding Eqlid plateau wheat terraces 2.8 km. Intake at 1,865-m spring inside gorge; gradient 0.25% through gorge. Dated Sasanian c.450 CE with 11th c. Kakuyid repair inscription on buttress 3. Channel plastered opus caementicium 2 cm; water still flows seasonal to terraces.
Why it mattersOnly preserved Zagros cliff-face gallery aqueduct with gorge arch-buttress hybrid.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Gallery cut method—scaffold vs rope on 85-m cliff
Theories
- 01Rope-scaffold cliff masonry
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.450 CE (Sasanian Bahram V era)
- Period
- Sasanian to Kakuyid (450 CE, repaired 1050 CE)
- Culture
- Sasanian Zagros (Eqlid terrace farmers)
- Builders
- Sasanian engineers (Bahram V) with Kakuyid repair
- Purpose
- Gorge spring cliff aqueduct feeding Eqlid plateau wheat terraces 2.8 km beyond gorge
- Abandoned
- still seasonal operating
- Rediscovered
- 1906 Eqlid gorge survey; 1978 Zagros hydraulic survey (Kleiss); 2015 Boraq lidar cliff mapping
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
450 CE
Sasanian cliff aqueduct 420 m cut
1050 CE
Kakuyid inscription repair buttress 3
On the ground
Structures & features
30.5500° N · 52.3200° E · 1850 m · 2 mapped features
Boraq Gorge Gallery 420 m
galleryRock-cut 420-m gallery 0.6×0.9 m with vault roof inside cliff face
30.5510° N · 52.3180° ECliff Arch Buttress 3
aqueduct4.2-m arch buttress carrying channel over gorge recess with 1050 CE inscription
30.5490° N · 52.3220° E