A Glance on Architectural Particularities of Watermills in Town of Birjan

Human being has always endeavored to keep a balance between his needs, demands, latent and active facilities in the environment since millennia. Watermill has, as an environmental hydraulic structure, played a vital role in the man’s socio-economic life even in arid areas where it was temporarily constructed for being used in certain seasons and or specific measures were devised to supply water. In the south of Khorasan especially in Birjand where water is noticeably scarce, solid dikes and qanats, that their relics are accessible, were used to satisfy the needs of a developing city through its circulation. The investigations which were carried out in Birjand region revealed that in addition to watermills, some windmills had been around the town. As Birjand has been located in a closed region, a number of its windmills is less than any other areas of Khorasan. Due to a better climate and more accessibility to water in Bāgherān Mountain range in comparison with its neighboring regions, the locals mostly made watermills. Omar Shāh Dike and Band-e Darreh (Dareh Dike) supplied water for a majority of watermills in Birjand. The nearest watermill to the dyke was equipped with an instrument to return water, and other watermills which were in a lower position than the first one regarding height used consecutively used the same water-returning instrument, and there was no need for a new water-returning device. The largest parts of theses watermills have been constructed in the ground, and the light needed for such structure is supplied through the entrance and openings which have been installed in the ceiling. In terms of age, the structures under study like the ones that are in Birjand date back to the Safavid era which their capital was Qahestan Region. From the Qajar period, as this region was across the south-north commercial route, commercial activities have been on upswing. Due to heavy traffic of traders and their needs for necessary materials especially for bread, a large number of watermills have been constructed around Bāgherān Mountain range.
For the same reason, most of these watermills belong to the period mentioned above. The present paper tries to study different aspects of watermills of Birjand through descriptive-analytic method. In doing so, the authors examined the followings issues: architectural points, indoor details, water supply method, dimensions, size and geographical situation. Library studies and field work provided data. The critical question of this research is: “What are the main architectural components of this type of architecture? Is there any variety in architectural components of the watermills?” The studies show these structures are similar in terms of architecture, aqueduct, headrace, wheat mill chamber, its annexes as well as the materials used for their construction. Although there exist some minor changes in some spaces like guard cabinet, storage house concerning area and size which depend on the owner’s budget for the development of such structures.