Memories of a trip to Deween castle and a zoroasthrian cemeteryEstimated reading time: 6 min. Versio
Memories of a trip to Deween castle and a zoroasthrian cemeteryEstimated reading time: 6 min. Version française |Versione italianaWe’ve asked Yves Ubelmann, Iconem’s CEO, to narrate us about his travel to the Kurdish region of Northern Iraq, bringing us with him to those fascinating places through his stories. After Akre and the Shanidar cave, he and Julien Buteau, stopped at the castle of Deween, to digitize the remains of the wall and the old cemetery. What remains at Deween is an archaeological site that consists of an ancient cemetery and a castle, both of our digitization goals. We are about 45 minutes drive from Erbil, reaching the place through a long road that crosses the fascinating nature of the region’s landscape. We were surrounded by high mountains and cliffs. The weather was just perfect for a drone flight.The cemetery is in the lower part of Deween, while in the upper part there is the castle. That day Julien and I were accompanied by two locals, who showed us what remains of the ancient castle and the Zoroastrian graves of the cemetery. As soon as we approach the tombs, we immediately notice their peculiarities: so many and carved.On each of them, several signs capture our attention: a sun, knives, geometric representations with parallel lines… all engraved in stone, which presume to have belonged to an ancient culture. In fact, as the two guides tell us, they are Zoroastrian symbols that were engraved several centuries ago by the people of the village.Moving higher up we reach the Deween Castle, also known as Salahaddin Fortress.The history of Deween Castle is not well-known, but according to local archaeologists, it was built by the Zarzariya tribe, and especially by the grandfather of the famous Kurdish general Salahaddin. Today there is not much left of the castle, apart from some tower and the remains of some walls… -- source link