Dataset on Caravanserais and Qanat Networks in Khorasan, Iran

This dataset comprises 280 caravanserais and over 750 associated qanat irrigation systems in Iran's Khorasan region. Caravanserais were roadside structures that provided shelter and services to travellers, while qanats are subterranean channels designed to transport water from underground aquifers across long distances. Together, these infrastructural systems played a critical role in shaping trade, agriculture, and settlement patterns across the Iranian Plateau since ancient times.
Compiled by the EAMENA project at the University of Oxford, the dataset enables analysis of the spatial relationship between caravan routes and qanat networks, as well as the preservation status of these sites and the threats they face. It covers sites across the three Khorasan provinces and Semnan, which, although now administratively separate, historically formed part of key caravan corridors.