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Nominations of Cultural Properties to the World Heritage List (Bam and its Cultural Landscape)

Document type
Decision
Reference number
14B.55
Date
Jun 28, 2004
Source
UNEP, InforMEA
Status
Active
Subject
Wild species & ecosystems
Treaty
Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (Nov 23, 1972)
Meeting
28e session du Comité
Website
whc.unesco.org
Abstract

The World Heritage Committee,


1. Noting the request of the State Party to modify the name of the property,


2. Inscribes Bam and its Cultural Landscape, Islamic Republic of Iran, on the World Heritage List on the basis of cultural criteria (ii), (iii), (iv) and (v):


Criterion (ii): Bam developed at the crossroads of important trade routes at the southern side of the Iranian high plateau, and it became an outstanding example
of the interaction of the various influences.


Criterion (iii): Bam and its Cultural Landscape represent an exceptionaltestimony to the development of a trading settlement in the desert environment of the Central Asian region.


Criterion (iv): Bam represents an outstanding example of a fortified settlement and citadel in the Central Asian region, using in its construction a combination of
mud layers (Chineh) and mud bricks (Khesht).


Criterion (v): The cultural landscape of Bam is an outstanding representation of the interaction of man and nature in a desert environment, using the qanāts. The
system is based on a strict social system with precise tasks and responsibilities, which have been maintained in use until the present, but has now become vulnerable to irreversible change.