Temple of Anahita, Kangavar 5/8
IRAN/ Kangavar / Location: 34°30′05″N 47°57′37″EIn Kangavar, on an elevated rocky platform, is the remnants of a majestic structure. The same belongs to the pre-Islamic era and was known as Anahita. The name of this temple is depicted from Anahita (Nahid) who was a deity and gaurd angel of water, abundance and blessing. Some believe that the structure dates back to the Parthian era, whilst upon this relic the evidences of this period and the early Islamic era can also be noted. According to scientific researches, the architectural characteristics of this temple have acquired inspiration from that of the Achaemenian age. undefined The main structure of the Anahita temple is a quadrilateral one Its ramparts being 230 m. in length, and its thickness in most of the parts is 18 m. which reveals the archaic grandeur and magnificence of this structure. undefined The stairway of the temple is bilateral and closely attached to the wall. The difference between the lowest and highest point of the structure is 30 m. undefined and is in a form of steps, similar to the Achaemenian structures. At the foot of the eastern wall of the structure is a cemetery which is related to the Parthian era. It is noted that the deceased have been buried in such a way to face the Anahita structure.
Originally, 200 BCE was proposed as the date of the site's construction. Under the Parthians any observable western influence can just as well be a survival from the Hellenistic period, which is why the monument at Kangāvar was once acceptably dated as early Parthian while recent investigations proved it to be late Sasanian.
In this regard, Warwick Ball however states:
Earlier studies favored a Seleucid date, with some suggesting an Achaemenid date for the platform. A date in the Parthian period has since been more generally favoured on stylistic grounds, but recent excavations found evidence for major Sassanian construction. However the colonnaded temenos is different in almost every respect to Sassanian architecture. Probably, the temple underwent numerous major reconstruction periods, with perhaps a 2nd-century AD date for the colonnaded temenos, and major Sassanian reconstruction of the sanctuary building inside.