Historic-Bridge Landscape Restoration in Iran: A Weighted Indicator Assessment of Three Sassanid Bridges

Rostami, Fatemeh; Keramati, Ghazal; Soltan Zadeh, Hossein

doi:10.22034/ijumes.2026.2107106.1409

Historic-Bridge Landscape Restoration in Iran: A Weighted Indicator Assessment of Three Sassanid Bridges

Document Type : Case Study

Authors

Fatemeh Rostami

Ghazal Keramati

Hossein Soltan Zadeh

Department of Architecture, CT.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

10.22034/ijumes.2026.2107106.1409

Abstract

Historic bridges sit at the intersection of hydraulic engineering, architectural heritage and cultural landscape, yet restoration practice still treats them largely as isolated structural objects, detaching the crossing from the watercourse, terrain and settlement pattern that give it meaning.This study develops an eight-indicator assessment framework and applies it to three case-study bridges spanning a deliberate gradient of setting and statutory status: the riverine, World-Heritage-listed Band-e Kaisar at Shushtar; the valley-bound, nationally registered Pol-e Mehr Narseh at Tangab; and the gorge-bound, unlisted Pol-e Dokhtar at Mianeh. The framework was derived through a five-phase mixed-methods sequence: qualitative content analysis of expert interviews and technical documents yielded eighteen candidate factors; three rounds of fuzzy Delphi reduced these to eight validated indicators across five dimensions; fuzzy analytic hierarchy process produced global weights; and partial least squares structural equation modelling confirmed the dimensional structure, explaining 54 per cent of variance in restoration sustainability. Applying the weighted indicators produced composite condition indices of 80.5, 67.7 and 63.2, placing the three cases in three distinct intervention pathways. Critically, the spread was concentrated not in fabric-related indicators but in restoration standards, process design and architectural-element conservation, while the remote gorge case outperformed the listed monument on ecological protection. Inscription status and managerial infrastructure, rather than intrinsic material condition, therefore drive measured performance, and landscape-restoration policy for historic bridges should be tiered by measured condition rather than applied uniformly.

Graphical Abstract

Historic-Bridge Landscape Restoration in Iran: A Weighted Indicator Assessment of Three Sassanid Bridges

Highlights

· Eight-indicator restoration framework validated by fuzzy Delphi, AHP and PLS-SEM

· Applied to two Sassanid bridges of opposite setting and statutory status

· Composite condition index: 80.5 for Band-e Kaisar, 63.2 for Pol-e Dokhtar

· The gap is managerial, not material: standards and process design dominate

· Condition-tiered pathways proportion intervention to measured state, not status

Keywords

Cultural landscape

Fuzzy Delphi

historic bridges

landscape restoration

Sassanid heritage

Addessi, D., Gatta, C., Nocera, M., & Liberatore, D. (2021). Nonlinear dynamic analysis of a masonry arch bridge accounting for damage evolution. Geosciences, 11(8), 343. https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences11080343

Ashrafi, B., Kloos, M., & Reicher, C. (2024). Heritage impact assessment index within urban development context: The case of Masjed-e Jame of Isfahan in Iran. Heritage, 8(1), 3. https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage8010003

Avrami, E., Macdonald, S., Mason, R., & Myers, D. (Eds.). (2019). Values in heritage management: Emerging approaches and research directions. Los Angeles: Getty Conservation Institute. https://www.getty.edu/publications/heritagemanagement/

Buckley, J. J. (1985). Fuzzy hierarchical analysis. Fuzzy Sets and Systems, 17(3), 233–247. https://doi.org/10.1016/0165-0114(85)90090-9

Ccanccapa Puma, J., Hidalgo Valdivia, A. V., Espinoza Vigil, A. J., & Booker, J. (2024). Preserving heritage riverine bridges: A hydrological approach to the case study of the Grau Bridge in Peru. Heritage, 7(7), 3350–3371. https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage7070158

Chang, D.-Y. (1996). Applications of the extent analysis method on fuzzy AHP. European Journal of Operational Research, 95(3), 649–655. https://doi.org/10.1016/0377-2217(95)00300-2

Chen, S., Pintus, V., & Li, C. (2026). Value-based conservation of Zhaozhou Bridge: Inspiration from World Heritage bridges. Journal of Highway and Transportation Research and Development, 20(2), 54–64. https://doi.org/10.26599/HTRD.2026.9480097

Council of Europe. (2000). European Landscape Convention (ETS No. 176). Florence: Council of Europe. https://www.coe.int/en/web/landscape

Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39–50. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224378101800104

Hair, J. F., Risher, J. J., Sarstedt, M., & Ringle, C. M. (2019). When to use and how to report the results of PLS-SEM. European Business Review, 31(1), 2–24. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-11-2018-0203

Hassani, F., & Rafiee, M. (2013). An experience in cultural heritage documentation in Iran using a low-cost technique. ISPRS Archives, XL-5/W2, 313–318. https://doi.org/10.5194/isprsarchives-XL-5-W2-313-2013

Henseler, J., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2015). A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modeling. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43(1), 115–135. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-014-0403-8

Historic England. (2008). Conservation principles, policies and guidance for the sustainable management of the historic environment. London: English Heritage. https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/conservation-principles-sustainable-management-historic-environment/

Hsu, Y.-L., Lee, C.-H., & Kreng, V. B. (2010). The application of fuzzy Delphi method and fuzzy AHP in lubricant regenerative technology selection. Expert Systems with Applications, 37(1), 419–425. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eswa.2009.05.068

Huff, D., & Kleiss, W. (1989). Bridges. In Encyclopædia Iranica (Vol. IV, Fasc. 5, pp. 449–455). London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/bridges/

ICOMOS. (1964). International charter for the conservation and restoration of monuments and sites (The Venice Charter). Venice: ICOMOS. https://www.icomos.org/images/DOCUMENTS/Charters/Venice_Charter_EN_2023.pdf

ICOMOS. (1994). The Nara document on authenticity. Nara: ICOMOS. https://www.icomos.org/en/179-articles-en-francais/ressources/charters-and-standards/386-the-nara-document-on-authenticity-1994

Ishikawa, A., Amagasa, M., Shiga, T., Tomizawa, G., Tatsuta, R., & Mieno, H. (1993). The max–min Delphi method and fuzzy Delphi method via fuzzy integration. Fuzzy Sets and Systems, 55(3), 241–253. https://doi.org/10.1016/0165-0114(93)90251-C

Kou, H., Zhang, L., & Zhang, S. (2024). Visual impact assessment method for cultural heritage: West Lake cultural landscape in Hangzhou, China. Land, 13(10), 1596. https://doi.org/10.3390/land13101596

León-Robles, C. A., Reinoso-Gordo, J. F., & González-Quiñones, J. J. (2019). Heritage building information modeling (H-BIM) applied to a stone bridge. ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information, 8(3), 121. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi8030121

Majtan, E., Cunningham, L. S., & Rogers, B. D. (2022). Experimental and numerical investigation of floating large woody debris impact on a masonry arch bridge. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 10(7), 911. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10070911

Palang, H., & Fry, G. (Eds.). (2003). Landscape interfaces: Cultural heritage in changing landscapes. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-0189-1

Prendergast, L. J., & Gavin, K. (2014). A review of bridge scour monitoring techniques. Journal of Rock Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, 6(2), 138–149. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrmge.2014.01.007

Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2016). Gain more insight from your PLS-SEM results: The importance-performance map analysis. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 116(9), 1865–1886. https://doi.org/10.1108/IMDS-10-2015-0449

Rössler, M., & Lin, R. C.-H. (2018). Cultural landscape in World Heritage conservation and cultural landscape conservation challenges in Asia. Built Heritage, 2(3), 3–26. https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03545707

Sacco, G. L. S., Ridella, M., & Calderini, C. (2026). A parametric HBIM approach to geometric uncertainty modelling for heritage bridge structural analysis. Buildings, 16(15), 3054. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings16153054

Simoncello, N., Zampieri, P., Gonzalez-Libreros, J., Perboni, S., & Pellegrino, C. (2020). Numerical analysis of an FRP-strengthened masonry arch bridge. Frontiers in Built Environment, 6, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fbuil.2020.00007

UNESCO. (2011). Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape. Paris: UNESCO. https://whc.unesco.org/en/hul/

UNESCO World Heritage Centre. (2009). Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System (World Heritage List No. 1315). Paris: UNESCO. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1315/

UNESCO World Heritage Centre. (2018). Sassanid Archaeological Landscape of Fars Region (World Heritage List No. 1568). Paris: UNESCO. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1568/

Vafadari Komarolya, D., & Sajedi, S. (2026). Power, consensus, and conflict in urban heritage governance: A MACTOR analysis of stakeholder networks in Tabriz, Iran. Journal of Urban Management, 15(3), 1430–1449. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jum.2026.02.009

Willkens, D. S., Liu, J., & Alathamneh, S. (2024). A case study of integrating terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) and building information modeling (BIM) in heritage bridge documentation: The Edmund Pettus Bridge. Buildings, 14(7), 1940. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14071940

Yang, C., Hu, Y., Su, Q., Li, X., & Zhu, M. (2025). Empirical methods for recognizing and evaluating cultural heritage value of timber-arched lounge bridge from the perspective of cultural memory. Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering, 24(5), 3575–3592. https://doi.org/10.1080/13467581.2024.2399689

Zhou, J., Wang, W., Zhou, J., Zhang, Z., Lu, Z., & Gong, Z. (2022). Management effectiveness evaluation of world cultural landscape heritage: A case from China. Heritage Science, 10(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40494-022-00660-2