Classification and Analysis of Troglodytic Architecture, Man-made Cave, in the county of Maragheh

Man-made caves or troglodytic spaces are special kinds of architecture in which no materials are applied for creating the spaces and in turn they are created through decreasing the rocky mass in the ground and rock’s bed by human being. The Man-made caves or troglodytic spaces have been identified and introduced in different parts of the country so far. Maragheh County which is located in the north western part of Iran, not only owns the numerous historical monuments from different periods, but also holds a number of Troglodytic sites. According to the available evidence, exploitation of indigenous architecture based on the environmental factors in Maragheh County has long attracted the attentions of many communities in this area. Therefore based on the needs of the residents, troglodytic spaces have been created in the land and rock beds with various applications. Based on the field survey, it was found that still there have been various man-made caves or troglodytic spaces in Maragheh County which is worth considering for investigations and documentations, furthermore, the results of this study can be applied as a model for further studies of Man-made caves or troglodytic architectures in other villages located in the foothills of the Sahand Mountain. Studies show that despite the diversity and relatively large number of rocky cliff troglodytic spaces in some villages of this area, it is hard to find any complete investigations in this field. Therefore, the troglodytic spaces of this region are less known and null action has been taken to register these magnificent works in the list of national works of the country. Due to this fact, in this research, by taking the advantages of the archeological and architectural studies, an attempt has been made to introduce the troglodytic spaces of Maragheh and then describe the formation factor, the general characteristics of the spaces and the period of its use. This research seeks to answer these fundamental questions: in which field the typology and architectural classification of the troglodytic spaces in Maragheh County are classified? What are the general characteristics of Troglodytic spaces in Maragheh County? The present survey aims to study and analyze the typology and classification of the mentioned Man-made caves or troglodytic spaces. Accordingly, while identifying, introducing and explaining the characteristics of the troglodytic spaces of this region, the research has also dealt with the formation factors of these architectural spaces. Besides, implementing the field method for recording and explaining the current situation, the survey adopted documentary studies based on the descriptive - analytical method to identify the formation factor of troglodytic architecture in Maragheh County. Also the study benefited from the Geographic Information System (GIS) for identifying the distribution pattern of the Troglodytic spaces in Maragheh villages.The results demonstrate that the troglodytic works of Maragheh villages can be categorized based on morphology in superficial and sub - surface forms. Moreover, in terms of typology and classification of usability nature, they are applied for various uses including a) residential, b) ritual-religious, c) protective and d) public benefit. Many of these troglodytic spaces are now destroyed and lost their original use; simultaneously they are mostly applied as storage and livestock spaces. Research method The present research is descriptive-analytical and data collection is done by library method based on field studies. The authors hope to provide a logical and reasoned answer to the questions raised about this kind of architecture by citing the results of field research conducted at the county level and also relying on library studies on troglodytic works.