TEHRAN -- Beyond its iconic stepped houses and mist-shrouded mountain scenery, the historic village of Masuleh is revealing a lesser-known chapter of its past: a centuries-old tradition of iron extraction, smelting and blacksmithing.
On the second day of his field visit, Shaiful Shahidan, an evaluator with the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), visited the archaeological sites of Kohneh Masuleh and Khanbajisara to examine evidence of ancient iron production and the thermal structures uncovered during excavations.
According to Iran’s Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, the fieldwork focused on locations associated with the extraction of raw iron ore and traditional metalworking. 
The evaluator inspected excavation areas and assessed the operation of furnaces and other heat-based structures used in the smelting and processing of iron ore, drawing on archaeological evidence and the stratigraphy of the sites.
The visit forms a significant part of the assessment of the proposed “Cultural Landscape of Masuleh and Its Ancient Ironworking Sites,” a heritage nomination that seeks to demonstrate how the region’s natural environment, traditional industries, settlement patterns and architectural heritage evolved together over centuries.
For archaeologists, the remains of furnaces and ironworking installations offer more than a glimpse of early technology. Together with evidence of mining and raw-material extraction, they help reconstruct the stages of a historic production chain — from obtaining iron ore to processing metal and forging finished objects.
During the site visits, Shahidan exchanged views with archaeologists and heritage specialists about furnace technology, metal-extraction techniques and the relationship between these production systems and the local economy and livelihoods of Masuleh’s communities.
These findings are central to understanding the wider cultural landscape. They help connect the village’s distinctive architecture and traditional ways of life with the industrial knowledge and resource use that sustained communities across the surrounding mountains.
Set in Iran’s Alborz mountain range in Gilan Province, Masuleh is renowned for its compact, terraced architecture, in which the roofs of lower buildings often serve as courtyards and pathways for those above. 
Its distinctive urban fabric reflects generations of adaptation to steep terrain and a challenging mountain climate.