Recognition of defensive factors in the architectural heritage of Iran’s organic ancient shelters

Abstract

In ancient Iran, in addition to defensive elements such as castles, fortresses, and fortifications, there were underground cities called dastkand. These cities had a shelter-protection function and provided safe space to protect residents when enemies attacked. In the scope of dastkand architectural studies, form typology, land-use typology, and provision of thermal comfort have been investigated in various studies but there is no study on dastkand defensive architecture, which is the main purpose of the present research. The research method is a mixed method (qualitative-quantitative). The required data are collected through a survey and then, analyzed using factor analysis in R method. The statistical population includes Iranian architectural heritage specialists and the sample size is estimated to be 165 persons. Sampling adequacy is confirmed based on the results of KMO test. The samples are selected using a non-probability sampling method. The obtained results indicate that ten factors have been effective in the architecture of Iran’s ancient organic shelters. In order from largest to smallest coefficient of variance, the factors include collective defense, multi-layered defense, environmental camouflage, path control, self-sufficiency, secret passage, sustainable architecture, residential values, covert surveillance, and cluster development.

Key words： Architectural heritage; Dastkand; Defensive architecture; Organic shelter; Underground cities