DOI Artikel:
Lerche, Grith; Steensberg, Axel: Tools and tillage in Iran: observations made in 1965 in the province of Kermán
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.49001#0229
TOOLS AND TILLAGE IN IRAN
Observations made in 1965 in the province of Kerman
By
Grith Lerche and Axel Steensberg
Introduction
In June and July 1965 the authors spent
about one month in the Middle East with the
support of a grant from the Carlsberg
Foundation. During our visit to Iran we
stayed a fortnight in Sirjan (formerly
Saidabad) about 200 km SW of Kermdn. We
enjoyed the hospitality of Mr. and Mrs.
Banke. Their butler, Mr. Rollam Hussein,
born in the Bam district further east, became
our interpreter, while the “Kampsax” con-
sulting engineers, for whom Mr. J. Banke
acted as a civil engineer, provided us with a
car. Without their benevolent help it would
have been impossible to make so many ob-
servations in such a relatively short span of
time. Some previous observations on har-
vesting with sickles have been published in
Tools and Tillage (Lerche 1968). We now
consider ploughing practices in the same
region.
The province of Kerman stretches from
the border of Fars province 100 km west of
Sirjan to the junction of the frontiers to-
wards Afghanistan and Pakistan 540 km east
of Sirjan. Bandar Abbas is c. 250 km to the
south at the Hormuz Strait (fig. 1).
In 1965 the district around Sirjan had just
been opened as a safe thoroughfare to the
south, while the track westwards towards
Shiraz could not be safely passed without an
escort. Some settlements around Sirjan were
still fortified with walls of dry clay, watch
towers and secured gateways.
Kerman is sited 1853 m above sea level on
the east side of the Wadi of Shurdb. West-
wards the plain continues to the small town
of Baghur, and then the landscape becomes
hilly. Further on the road runs through the
Pass of Khan-i Surkh, 2590 m above sea
level, bypassing the 3200 m high mountain,
Pan] Kuh. From this point the road de-
scends towards Sirjan, which is located in
the middle of a plateau of about 1700 m
above sea level.
The climate is subtropical with extremely
hot and dry summers and occasional frost
and snow in the winters. In July we ob-
served temperatures of 42-45° centigrade.
Whirlwinds were seen wandering as high
spiral columns over the plain, raising dust,
sand and gravel as well as bits of the sparse
vegetation into the sky. Because of browsing
herds of sheep, goats and camels, trees will
only grow in protected places like gardens,
villages and towns. Dry northerly winds
prevail, and only in winter and spring de-
pressions from the Mediterranean bring
showers, so the annual rainfall is hardly
much more than 15 cm.
The plain between Sir]dn and Hussein
dbad 25 km to the NE is called the Sandy
Plain. Here the soil consists of a layer of
pebbles covering a layer of sand, clay and silt
in a proportion of c. 50, 20 and 30 % respec-
tively. The thickness of this layer varies from
a few centimetres to one metre, and below is
a compact one-metre deep layer of gravel.
Observations made in 1965 in the province of Kerman
By
Grith Lerche and Axel Steensberg
Introduction
In June and July 1965 the authors spent
about one month in the Middle East with the
support of a grant from the Carlsberg
Foundation. During our visit to Iran we
stayed a fortnight in Sirjan (formerly
Saidabad) about 200 km SW of Kermdn. We
enjoyed the hospitality of Mr. and Mrs.
Banke. Their butler, Mr. Rollam Hussein,
born in the Bam district further east, became
our interpreter, while the “Kampsax” con-
sulting engineers, for whom Mr. J. Banke
acted as a civil engineer, provided us with a
car. Without their benevolent help it would
have been impossible to make so many ob-
servations in such a relatively short span of
time. Some previous observations on har-
vesting with sickles have been published in
Tools and Tillage (Lerche 1968). We now
consider ploughing practices in the same
region.
The province of Kerman stretches from
the border of Fars province 100 km west of
Sirjan to the junction of the frontiers to-
wards Afghanistan and Pakistan 540 km east
of Sirjan. Bandar Abbas is c. 250 km to the
south at the Hormuz Strait (fig. 1).
In 1965 the district around Sirjan had just
been opened as a safe thoroughfare to the
south, while the track westwards towards
Shiraz could not be safely passed without an
escort. Some settlements around Sirjan were
still fortified with walls of dry clay, watch
towers and secured gateways.
Kerman is sited 1853 m above sea level on
the east side of the Wadi of Shurdb. West-
wards the plain continues to the small town
of Baghur, and then the landscape becomes
hilly. Further on the road runs through the
Pass of Khan-i Surkh, 2590 m above sea
level, bypassing the 3200 m high mountain,
Pan] Kuh. From this point the road de-
scends towards Sirjan, which is located in
the middle of a plateau of about 1700 m
above sea level.
The climate is subtropical with extremely
hot and dry summers and occasional frost
and snow in the winters. In July we ob-
served temperatures of 42-45° centigrade.
Whirlwinds were seen wandering as high
spiral columns over the plain, raising dust,
sand and gravel as well as bits of the sparse
vegetation into the sky. Because of browsing
herds of sheep, goats and camels, trees will
only grow in protected places like gardens,
villages and towns. Dry northerly winds
prevail, and only in winter and spring de-
pressions from the Mediterranean bring
showers, so the annual rainfall is hardly
much more than 15 cm.
The plain between Sir]dn and Hussein
dbad 25 km to the NE is called the Sandy
Plain. Here the soil consists of a layer of
pebbles covering a layer of sand, clay and silt
in a proportion of c. 50, 20 and 30 % respec-
tively. The thickness of this layer varies from
a few centimetres to one metre, and below is
a compact one-metre deep layer of gravel.