A Summery on the Methodology of Buffer Zone for the Ancient Jey in Isfahan

The ancient Jey, in Isfahan, enjoys lots of things left from the pre-Islamic period. After dislocation of the city centre from to Yahādāyeh Neighbourhood, this town gradually lost its development and remained as a village at the eastern margin of the city and away from the historical growth. Anonymity and negligence in the cultural heritage of Jey, through centuries, led in the urban management’s inattention to the importance of this historical-natural site. In the second half of the 1990’s, due to the growth of overhead costs of the projects as well as about rise of high-rise building construction, a large part of the agricultural fields of the region has been destroyed and irreversible damages incurred into the historical centre of the Ancient Jey. At the same time, the Comprehensive Planning project of the region neglected the historical-natural aspect of the area and prominent historical properties, as cultural heritage, of the region, were limited and abandoned as forgotten islands. As a consequence, in winter 2003, ICHHTO provincial office in Isfahan prepared a very urgent project to determine the buffer zone of Jey. The project tried to follow two main objectives 1. scientific reconnaissance and clarification of the significance of this historical-natural landscape in development and transition of Isfahan for the city managers. 2. Safeguarding of agricultural heritage, historical properties, natural resources and the urban structure of the town against insecure development under a series of safety recommendations and laws. Determination of the buffer zone of the historical-natural landscape of the ancient Jey engages with numerous conservation and heritage concepts: on-ground and underground architectural and urban properties, water irrigation system and traditional agriculture, and specific topography of the land along with the river. Due to lack of archaeological excavation as for massive expenditure and time, first of all, careful fieldwork was carried out. Then, the updated and old maps have been compared with existing conditions. They have also been juxtaposed with historical documents and texts. In this way, the general structural basics of the ancient Jey especially the town and its suburbs have been identified. In the second phase, for providing a precise limit of the buffer zone, the following points have been taken into consideration: the traditional system of the Iranian urban planning, historians’ descriptions, examination of passageways, a method of land plotting, singling out  residential places from the urban agricultural areas. At the final stage, a series of field investigations and interviews have been carried out carried out. The agricultural systems and the range of cultural impact of the town have been studied. Determination of the buffer zone aims in identifying the cultural assets and providing a document which may extend the lifespan of the properties. The first phase is precise reconnaissance, examination and documentation of the site. In this way, one can foresee future safeguarding circumstances. In the same phase, values and factors that are instrumental in forming identity are defined. The second phase engages with management, planning and setting limits for the regulations. It should be kept in mind that the limits which are based on natural and historical specifications are more stable. The buffer zone and its deferent layers are determined based on the very primary reconnaissance and discernment of range of impact of the property. The third phase is to determine the regulations within the defined limits. The regulations for Jey’s buffer zone are divided into two groups of regulations: prohibitive and didactic. The best time to determine a buffer zone of a historical property is before conducting an urban comprehensive planning project as there exists enough time for carrying out archaeological sounding, documentation and providing an estimation of threads and opportunities.