ABSTRACT
Only one excavation dealing exclusively with Sasanian remains has been published so far, and even in this instance not entirely. Outside of Bishapur, the authors have to rely on descriptions by travelers and explorers of varying degrees of reliability and chance discoveries have been the major sources from which scholars have had to draw conclusions about what can be assumed a priori to have been one of the most important formative elements of medieval Near Eastern art. There is general agreement on the facts that it is a Sasanian palace of the fifth century ad and that its construction and decoration are quite remarkable. There is no argument about this last point, for the building is comparatively well preserved and does exhibit some extraordinary uses of piers supporting vaults, of façade designs, and of stucco coverings.
