TEHRAN -- Remains of a historic bridge have emerged during river dredging in Borujerd in western Iran, with preliminary architectural evidence suggesting the structure may date to the First Pahlavi period, officials said.
The remains were uncovered beneath soil and river sediment in the area around Ashayer Square in Borujerd, Lorestan Province. Ata Hasanpour, director general of Lorestan’s Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Department, said the structure was identified during dredging operations and could be the remains of a bridge dating to the First Pahlavi era.
Hasanpour cautioned, however, that the structure may have been built on the foundations or remains of an earlier bridge. Its precise date and history will require further exposure of the remains and specialist investigation.
Lorestan is known for its unusually large concentration of historic 
bridges. UNESCO’s Tentative List describes the province as containing a major collection of historic bridges spanning different periods of Iranian history.
Ali Mostafinejad, head of Lorestan’s specialized Historic Bridges Base, said an initial examination of the exposed remains supported a First Pahlavi-period date. 
He said the size and dimensions of the stones, their dressing, the plan of the structure, the arrangement of its architectural elements and the type of mortar used were among the features pointing to that period.
Mostafinejad said the structure could be among a group of historic bridges built in Lorestan during the First Pahlavi period by Me’mar Feshangchi, a local architect from Khorramabad. Feshangchi is also associated with other historic bridges in the province, including Afrineh Bridge.
He nevertheless said the possibility that the bridge was constructed over one or more older bridges could not be ruled out. Further investigation will be needed to determine whether earlier structural remains survive beneath or around the exposed bridge.
Muhammad Reza Asadi, head of the Technical Office of Lorestan’s Cultural Heritage Department, said the discovery indicated the historical importance of the area for movement and communications in earlier periods.
Asadi said river-dredging work could continue under the supervision of Borujerd’s cultural heritage authorities, provided that precautions were taken to prevent damage to the remains.
Further cleaning and exposure of the structure are expected to provide more information about its date, function and construction history, as well as the possibility of earlier architectural remains beneath or around it.