Cube of Zoroaster (Ka'bah-ye Zartosht)
TowerMiddle EastIran
Square tower at Naqsh-e Rustam, facing the rock-cut tomb of Darius I. Built from white limestone ashlar laid without mortar and joined by iron cramps, 7.25 m per side and 12.5 m tall, with a single chamber near the top reached by an external stair. Fifteen rows of shallow rectangular recesses run up each face; the dark openings below the roof are false windows - solid insets of dark limestone. Note what is and is not remarkable: limestone is about 3 on Mohs, softer than the iron that shaped it, so the achievement is fit, metrology and lifting rather than defeating a hard stone. Conventional dating: 6th-5th c. BCE Achaemenid. Open question: function, variously read as fire temple, royal mausoleum, calendar tower, or archive.
Look Closer — this site carries open questions: stones fitted without mortar, almost no gap; stones heavier than the period's tools could lift; geometry beyond period explanation. See precision across the Atlas →
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Walkthrough videos (1)
Cube of Zoroaster (Ka'abah-e Zarthost) · Ageless Rock
Nearby sites
- Naqsh-e Rustam0 km
- Persepolis6 km
- Pasargadae36 km