Shapur Cave

Shapur cave/ Shapour cave (Persian: غار شاپور‎) is located in the Zagros Mountains, in southern Iran, about 6 km from the ancient city of Bishapur. This cave is near Kazerun in Chogan valley where was the site of polo/chogan during Sassanian.

In the cave, on the fourth of five terraces, stands the colossal statue of Shapur I, the second ruler of the Sassanid Empire. The statue was carved from one stalagmite.The height of statue is 7 m. high and its shoulders are 2 m. wide, and its hands are 3 m. long.

About 1400 years ago, after the invasion of Iran by Arabs and collapse of the Sasanid dynasty, this grand statue was pulled down and a part of one of its legs was broken. About 70 years ago, again, parts of his arms were also broken. The statue had been lying on the ground for about 14 centuries until 1957 when upon orders of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi a group of his military men to raise it again on its feet and fix his foot with iron and cement. The project of raising the statue, building the roads from Bishapour to the area and paths in the mountain, stairs and iron fences on the route to the cave took six months in 1957.

The length of cave entrance is about 16 m., with a height of less than 8 m.Behind the statue, in the depth of the cave, are three ancient water-basins. At both sides of the statue, the rock-walls of the cave were prepared for reliefs by leveling, but the reliefs were never made. It is said that in addition to this giant statue of Shapour I, the tomb of this great man is also situated in this cave most probably.