*2.2. Methods*

The methodology used in this paper starts from the five issues and recommendations provided in Branduini et al. [36] (Table 1). For identifying these issues our previous research, Branduini et al., applied a multidisciplinary approach including landscape architecture, archaeology, remote sensing, engineering and ethnography fields of study [36]. In particular: (1) Landscape architecture and archaeology were used to conduct a thorough territorial and land-use analysis which highlighted the changes in the relation between the Tabriz urbanscape and the surrounding rural area which included also the No-Ras

qanat. (2) Multi-temporal satellite imagery remote sensing was crucial for understanding the long-term damages to the qanat. (3) Engineering provided significant support for the structural analysis of the qanat. (4) Ethnography helped to understand the connection of the local community with the qanat through the perception and awareness analysis.

**Table 1.** Research methodology. Both Issues and Recommendations are from Branduini et al. [36]. The ICOMOS-IFLA Action criteria are taken from ICOMOS-IFLA [33]. RWWTC means Regional Water and Wastewater Treatment Company, RAJO means Regional Agricultural Jihad Organization, ICHHTO means Iranian Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, while MCHT means Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Tourism.


Each issue and recommendation was associated with one or more action criteria listed by the ICOMOS-IFLA guidelines [33].

Based on this, we defined tailor-made activities also identifying actors and beneficiaries. In this way, we aim to move from a traditional top-down approach to a project

co-construction [32] promoting the participation of the public and the government in the mutual elaboration of a landscape project [63]. Moreover, in line with ICOMOS-IFLA guidelines updated interpretation of heritage, we aim to open a discussion on how heritage and its values can help to establish alignments and objectives in terms of economy, social cohesion and environmental protection, creating, in the process, awareness, sense of place and identity in its inhabitants and visitors [60]. A detailed description of the activities, actors and beneficiaries will be provided in Section 3.

### *2.3. Case Study: No-Ras Qanat in Northwestern Iran*

We applied this methodology to the No-Ras, located in North-western Iran, on the outskirts of modern Tabriz (Figure 1). It is about 3.5 km long and runs from the slope of Sahand mountain near the village of Chavan to the outlet located in the Fath Abad garden (Figures 2 and 3A).

**Figure 1.** The Tabriz area and the No-Ras qanat (after [36]).

**Figure 2.** The No-Ras qanat; (A) Fath-Abad village; (B) Fath-Abad historical garden (downstream); (C) freeway; (D) outlet/Mazhar (red dot); (E) gas pipeline; (F) train line; (G) sand and gravel mine; (H) Chavan village; (I) mother well (red dot); (J) agricultural lands (upstream).

**Figure 3.** The No-Ras qanat. (**A**) Reconstruction of the path in the area of the Chavan village; (**B**,**C**) outlet and pool inside the Fath Abad garden; (**D**,**E**) the underground water system.

The use of the No-Ras qanat is attested as early as the 13th century CE [64], as part of the numerous hydraulic activities carried out by Khajeh Rashid Al-Din Fazlullah during the Mongolian rule over the region. Its construction helped to transform at least part of the dry hilly area south of the city of Tabriz into a fertile land with gardens (i.e., the Fath Abad garden) and cultivated fields. This is also confirmed by Martin et al., who emphasized how the overall plan for the improvement of hydraulic facilities (including the No-Ras qanat) fostered the economic and social development of the region which became a prosperous rural residential area, with facilities and extended farmland [65]. While the political situation in the region remarkably changed through time, this HHS remained in use for almost seven centuries. Today, while at risk of abandonment and slow decay, recent research demonstrated that the No-Ras qanat still holds an important historical value for both the elders of area, the historians and other academic researchers interested in the subject [36]. Moreover, it represents a critical source bringing significant economic benefits to the local farmers and the local authorities, in particular those in charge of the maintenance of the outlet located at the Fath Abad garden [36].

From the pool inside the garden (Figure 3B,C), the underground water system (Figure 3D,E) flows through the Fath Abad village and the surrounding farmland. The No-Ras qanat has 54 wells including the mother well, located at a regular distance of about 60 m. Nowadays, only 11 of these wells can be recognized and just four of them are accessible and open, while the rest are blocked. Several wells have been destroyed by seasonal floods (which also affected part of the gallery) while others were blocked by new owners or fenced within private buildings. The deepest shaft is the so-called "Mother-well" reaching 49 m in depth. Most of the qanat route passes through the village of Chavan and the life and urban development of this small village (counting less than 2000 inhabitants) are strongly interconnected with the (albeit partial) use of the No-Ras. For example, numerous wells are located within the private properties of villagers and many local farmers who exploit the waters of the qanat come from it. Chavan and its inhabitants will, therefore, be carefully considered in the conservation and reuse proposal of the qanat.

The historical relevance of the No-Ras qanat was partially recognized from 1996, when its last stretch, including the Fath Abad garden, the outlet and the historical Garden Mansion were registered in the Iran National Heritage List. This brought to the restoration of the mansion the Fath Abad garden and part of the outlet. However, while the historical mansion was restored according to non-invasive approaches, thus, respecting the architectural layout and the original decorations, both the garden and the outlet were highly modified due to highly invasive methodologies [36]. Further risks, highlighted by Branduini et al., that over the last 20 years increasingly threaten its stability and the possibility of fully reusing it include [36]: buildings and roads construction, soil removal and levelling, ploughing, pollution and lack of maintenance. These are connected to the five issues illustrated in Table 1 and for which this paper proposes solutions.
