Tomb of Cyrus the Great
Tomb / BurialMiddle EastIran
Stepped stone monument at Pasargadae, the burial place of Cyrus II the Great. A gabled limestone chamber on a six-stepped pyramidal podium, approximately 11 m tall. Six stepped tiers carry a gabled chamber; the blocks are precisely cut and dry-fitted without mortar, tied by metal cramps. Nearly all the metal was later robbed out, and the damage that caused is why parts were repaired with stone recut from the original Sivand quarry - the open joints visible today are looting scars, not the original fit. The structure survived Alexander the Great's conquest in 330 BCE specifically because Alexander ordered it protected and restored. One of the few Achaemenid royal monuments preserved nearly intact.
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Persia : Tomb of Cyrus The Great · Ageless Rock