Bam and its Cultural Landscape

The Arg-e Bam is the largest adobe building in the world, located in the modern day Bam city, Kermān Province. Arg-e Bam belongs to the Achaemenid period (6th to 4th centuries BC) and even beyond. The flourishing period of the citadel was from the 7th to 11th centuries, being at the crossroads of some important trade routes. This city was recognized for the production of silk and cotton garments.

The Bam citadel, located at the center of the city, has a significant impact on planning and architecture of the city, because it can be understood that the planner(s) had foreseen the entire final form of the building and city from the first steps in the planning process.

On December 26, 2003, and earthquake destroyed the main part of the Citadel, along with some other parts of Bam city and its environs. However a few days after the earth quake it was announced that the Citadel will be reconstructed as it was. Bam Citadel was inscribed in the list of world’s endangered sites between 2003 and 2013, but finally The UN body removed Bam Citadel from its list of World Heritage in Danger in 2013, following the improvement in the site’s management, conservation and progress in restoration.