Achaemenid Ka'bah-e Zardusht (Cube of Zoroaster), 5th C BC and limestone ciffs, Naqsh-e Rostam, Marvdasht, Iran

---

Naqsh-e Rostam is an ancient necropolis in the Marvdasht valley containing tombs of the Achaemenid kings carved into the face of a fawn-colored limestone cliff in the shape of Persian crosses. Image showing the cube of Zoroaster (5th C BC) and the limestone cliffs at the Naqsh-e Rostam UNESCO site, Marvdasht, Iran. The structure of the Ka'bah is similar to the tomb of Cyrus I at Pasardagae (530 BC) and is thought to be an Achaemenid tomb. It appears to be built on a similar base isolated structure to the Cyrus I tomb which helps it to resist earthquakes and contributes to its remarkable preservation today. The building, with one inner chamber is decorated with recessed false windows.

---

Size: 5000px × 3333px
Location: Achaemenid tombs, Naqsh-e Rostam, Marvdasht, Iran
Photo credit: © Terry Allen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No

Keywords: 465, 486, aardusht, achaemenid, adventure, ancient, base, bc, blocks, blue, cliffs, close-, cube, cyrus, darius, false, grass, great, green, horizontal, ii, iran, isolated, kabah-, limestone, marvdasht, naqsh-, necropolis, rostam, similarity, sky, structure, tomb, tombs, tourism, travel, windows, zoraster