By 400BC, Persian engineers mastered the technique of storing ice in the middle of desert summers.

By 400BC, Persian engineers mastered the technique of storing ice in the middle of desert summers.

By 400 BC, Persian engineers had mastered the technique of storing ice in the middle of summer in the desert. The ice was brought in during the winters from nearby mountains in bulk amounts, and stored in a Yakhchal, or ice-pit.

I visited one of this a few months ago on my trip to Iran. This is a picture of the inside of one in Kashan. You can't see much but this is the closest I could get without falling into it.

Kashan is truly fascinating place. I visited Tepe Sialk there, which has relics from 9000 years ago. At that place, we met a archaeologist who had worked alongside Roman Ghirshman (famous French archeologist) for decades. The man was actually there on his day off still working, and mind you he was in his 80s. A man who truly loves his craft.

The state of Iran tourism is truly sad that because both of those places were entirely empty when I went. It's unfortunate that we have millenniums of history all going to waste.