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Location

  • Iran (Islamic Republic of), Mālvīrān
  • geo:32.027962,49.860264

Period or year

  • -1xx? / 6xx?

Classification

  • vicus
  • Visible

Malviran - Ancient Gilkart-Gilgird ?

data access 32031

WIKIMAPIA (https://wikimapia.org/34888301/Ruin-field-of-Malviran) : "In 1836, Sir Henry Rawlinson recorded a native's account of great ruins located on both sides of the river Karun within two plains enclosed by arcs of hills on each side (H. Rawlinson, “Notes on a March from Zoháb, at the foot of Zagros, along the mountains to Khúzistán (Susiana), and from thence through the province of Luristan to Kirmánsháh, in the year 1836,” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 9 (1839): 83-84). Later Sir Henry Layard visited the Sūsan valley and searched for the ruins, finding limited evidence, consisting of the shrine of Daniel, four piers of a Sasanid bridge over the Karun (apparently within the gorge upstream), and the traces or a city's ruins at Malviran, north of the Karun and "near the river bank" (H. Layard, Early Adventures in Persia, Susiana, and Babylonia, London 1887: 418-428). These traces appear to be even more difficult to distinguish today (apart from some building remains of recent date), although their general location seems certain. The Sasanid city located in this region, and possibly on this very spot, was known as Gilkart or Gilgird (the name is still employed to designate the mountains to the south), and in Greek as Giligerdon. Situated by this city was the infamous "Castle of Oblivion" employed by Sasanid kings to imprison prisoners of state, called Lethe in Greek, and Andmesh or Anowsh-berd in Armenian sources."

WIKIPEDIA (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_of_Oblivion 

Claudia A. Ciancaglini, 202, Forteresse de l'Oubli: note étymologique (https://www.academia.edu/3641407/Forteresse_de_lOubli_note_%C3%A9tymologique) (in french)

Nearby sites

  • Izeh - graveyard
    Parthian graveyard dated to the first century
    Iran (Islamic Republic of), Mehrnān-e Bālā
  • Izeh - graveyard
    Parthian graveyard
    Iran (Islamic Republic of), Mehrnān-e Bālā
  • Chogha Parsi’a
    Susa I settlement (0,2 ha).
    Iran (Islamic Republic of), Low’ Low’
  • Tepe Deh Sheikh
    Susa II settlement (0,6 ha).
    Iran (Islamic Republic of), Low’ Low’

Use and reuse

Creators: Entry created by Ludwinski (2017-01-01) , last updated by Julien De Chocqueuse (2023-05-09), with possible contributions by others. CC BY-SA 4.0, metadata CC-0.
Persistent URI: https://vici.org/vici/32031
Data downloads: KML, RDF
Suggested citation: Ludwinski and De Chocqueuse, J., Malviran - Ancient Gilkart-Gilgird ?. https://vici.org/vici/32031, accessed 2026-11-03.