The Sasanian inscriptions consist of royal proclamations that were commonly inscribed next to rock reliefs of Sasanian rulers, with the great majority belonging to the second half of the 3rd century and the early decades of the 4th century C.E., beginning with short accessory inscriptions (Beischriften) to rock reliefs by Ardašīr I at Naqš-e Rostam and Firuzābād, to extensive narratives by Ardašīr’s successors Šābuhr I and Narseh.
The Silicone holding, which has been tabulated according to the chronology of Sasanian rulers, may be summarized as follows:

(1) Ardašīr at Firuzābād 66 x 55 = 363 cm2
(2) Ardašīr at Naqš-e Rostam 57 x 76 = 433 cm2
(3) Ōhrmazd Bay at Naqš-e Rostam 60 x 33 = 198 cm2
(4) Šābuhr at Naqš-e Rajab (Parthian and Greek) 41 x 50 = 205 cm2
(5) Šābuhr at Naqš-e Rajab (Persian) 44 x 37 = 162 cm2
(6) Šābuhr at Ka'be-ye Zartušt (Parthian) 381 x 110 = 4,191 cm2
(7) Šābuhr at Ka'be-ye Zartušt (Persian) 297 x 102 = 3,029 cm2
(8) Šābuhr at Ka'be-ye Zartušt (Greek) 217 x 160 = 3,472 cm2
(9) Šābuhr at Naqš-e Rostam (Greek) 90 x 53 = 477 cm2
(10) Šābuhr at Tang-e Borāγ 104 x 144 = 1,497 cm2
(11) Šābuhr at Hajiābād (Parthian) 132 x 127 = 1,676 cm2
(12) Šābuhr at Hajiābād (Persian) 122 x 128 = 1,561 cm2
(13) Bahram II at Barm-Delak I 48 x 51 = 244 cm2
(14) Bahram II at Barm-Delak II 53 x 31 = 164 cm2
(15) Narseh at Tang-e Čogān (Bišāpur) 110 x 142 = 1,562 cm2
(16) Kerdīr at Sar Mašhad 550 x 294 = 16,170 cm2
(17) Kerdīr at Naqš-e Rostam 298 x 278 = 8,284 cm2
(18) Kerdīr at Naqš-e Rajab 157 x 112 = 1,758 cm2
(19) Kerdīr at Ka'be-ye Zartušt 312 x 67 = 2,090 cm2
(20) Šābuhr II at Tāq-e Bostān
(21) Šābuhr III at Tāq-e Bostān
(20) Mihrnarseh at Firuzābād 87 x 53 = 461 cm2
(21) Abnun in Nārenjestān 33 x 13 = 429 cm2
(22) Afsāy at Bišāpur 190 x 98 = 1,862 cm2
(23) Cursive of Bišāpur 37 x 30 = 111 cm2
(24) Persepolis I and II 51 x 68 = 346 cm2
(25) Persepolis Column (Bāγ-e Lardi) 60 x 46 = 276 cm2

The mission in charge of making the silicone molds during a period of three months in the Fall 2003 in Iran, comprised a crew of trained sculptors, who were led by M. Rahim Shayegan in collaboration with the Cultural Heritage Organization, represented on the field by Dr. Cyrus Nasrollahzodeh. The project, which was sponsored mainly by a generous grant from the Harvard Milton Fund, was able to make complete imprints of all know Sasanian inscriptions, and what is more, led to the discovery of two more (a royal and a funerary) inscriptions.

The silicone imprints, which are at present time deposited at the UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History under the supervision of the Ms. Wendy Giddens Teeter, Fowler Museum’s Curator of Archaeology, shall be used towards the preparation of a new critical edition of the Sasanian inscriptions by M. Rahim Shayegan, in collaboration with the Aga Khan Chair of Iranian, Prods Oktor Skjærvø.

It remains the Iranian Studies’ desideratum that in no remote future, funds will be made available to the program to preserve these important documents for future generations to come, as well as to make them available, through exhibit, to the larger public in the West.