Читать книгу A Companion to the Achaemenid Persian Empire, 2 Volume Set - Группа авторов - Страница 121

This part of the province is still in the uplands (approx. 1000 m above sea level) and has more favorable climate and water resources than southern Fars. This area was on the way between the two royal residences, Persepolis and Susa (600 km), but archeology so far has failed to identify any of the 20 supply stations that were to be installed on the road for accommodating groups of travelers, the king and his retinue when he was visiting his “countries,” messengers, troops, groups of nobles, and workers (Hallock 1969; Koch 1990) For example, the transfer of workers between the residences at Persepolis and Susa (Briant 2013) is attested only by Persepolis tablets. These buildings, probably made of mudbrick, did not leave many traces. However, this area is gradually revealing architectural remains of noble or royal residences in the form of stone column bases in different parts of the foothills. A region around the modern town of Nurabad seems particularly privileged. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries bell‐shaped bases decorated with palm leaves, similar to those of Persepolis, were identified. After soundings by a Japanese expedition in 1959, it was not until 2006 that the site of Qaleh Kali was again investigated by an Iranian–Australian microregional and multiperiod project. Excavations (Potts et al. 2009) cleared more column bases which belong to a portico. Floors, stairs, and parapets are also made of worked stones. More importantly, this building was not isolated. In the same area, other buildings, palaces or pavilions, have recently been located, as evinced by some stone column bases. Dating to the Achaemenid period is assumed on the ground of the shape and the techniques of working stone and some artifacts, though they are often mixed with more recent objects. These strongly built constructions were not destroyed in the fall of the Persian Empire and were reoccupied in the next few centuries.