Ab anbar
traditional Iranian water reservoir
An ab anbar (Persian: آبانبار, lit. 'Water cellar') is a traditional Persian reservoir or cistern of drinking water in Greater Iran.
Structure
To withstand the pressure the water exerts on the containers of the storage tank, the storage itself was built below ground level. This also provides resistance to earthquakes as many cities in Iran lie in earthquake prone areas. Since almost all ab anbars are subterranean structures capped barely above ground level, they possess inherently stable structures.
The construction material used for ab anbars were very tough and extensively used a special mortar called sarooj which was made of sand, clay, egg whites, lime, goat hair, and ash in specific proportions, depending on location and climate of the city. This mixture was thought to be completely water impenetrable. The walls of the storage were often 2 meters thick, and special bricks had to be used. These bricks were especially baked for ab anbars and were called Ajor Ab anbari. Some ab anbars were so big that they would be built underneath caravanserais such as the ab anbar of Haj Agha Ali in Kerman. Sometimes they would also be built under mosques, such as the ab anbar of Vazir near Isfahan.
The public source identifies “Ab anbar” as traditional Iranian water reservoir. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around anbar, traditional and Iranian.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Ab anbar”, the useful work is to connect “traditional Iranian water reservoir” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 31, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q303874. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Ab anbar”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Ab anbar primary sources, Ab anbar archive and anbar research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Ab anbar”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Ab anbar” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.