Iran – Persia – Qasr-i-Shirin Area. To Accompany Report M.H.L. 7 – Geological Map – 1929

Date: Season 1927–1928; registered April 1929
Sheet designation: Sheet No. 2 (F 6 & 10)
Corporate attribution: Anglo-Persian Oil Company (A.P.O.C.)
Production: Vandyked at Masjid-i-Sulaiman
Size: 90cm x 106.3cm

Physical Description

Large-format geological working map on thin paper, backed onto linen, folded.

The sheet comprises:

• Printed topographic base, including:
  • Contours (brown/orange)
  • Watercourses (blue)
  • Settlement and infrastructure detail
• Hand-applied colour wash delineating geological formations
• Extensive manuscript geological annotations, including:
  • Structural axes and fault lines (in black)
  • Dip measurements (numerical values with directional ticks/arrows)
  • Additional red pencil annotations in places

A printed legend panel identifies the following formations:

• Upper Bakhtiari
• Lower Bakhtiari
• Upper Fars
• Middle Fars
• Lower Fars
• Kuhur Limestone
• Eocene

Geographical Coverage (as shown)

The map is centred on Qasr-i-Shirin in western Iran.

Clearly legible mapped features include:

• Qasr-i-Shirin (principal settlement)
• Khanaqin (to the west)
• Naft Khana / Naft Khaneh oilfield area
• A.P.O.C. installations, including:
  • “A.P.O.C. Shed and Store”
  • “Ry. Station”
• Pipeline infrastructure, labelled:
  • “Water Pipe Line”
• Refinery installation, labelled:
  • “Island Refinery”
• Aerodrome (marked near Qasr-i-Shirin)
• River systems and valley networks

Geological Content (evidence)

The map presents:

• Coloured stratigraphic bands, including a prominent linear formation (purple/blue)
• Structural geology, including:
  • Anticlines
  • Synclines
  • Fault lines
• Dip measurements (e.g. 15, 25, 40, 80 etc.) with directional indicators

A manuscript note reads (partially legible):

“Middle Fars taken as 300’ thick … and interpolated”

This confirms active geological interpretation applied to the base map.

Scale and Measurement

The sheet includes a printed scale and measurement system:

• Scale: 1 inch = 1 mile (1:63,360)
• Distance bar: marked in furlongs and miles (up to 3 miles shown)
• Contour interval: 100 feet

Documentary Markings

The sheet carries multiple administrative and production markings:

• “A.P.O.C. M.S. Reg. No. 86 – April, 1929”
  (internal registration number and date)
• “Season 1927–28”
  (fieldwork period)
• “Vandyked at Masjid-i-Sulaiman”
  (place and method of reproduction)
• Geological Office stamp (purple):
  “A.P.O.C. Masjid-i-Sulaiman”
  With date: 8-4-30
• Sheet identification:
  “Sheet No. 2 F 6 & 10”

Technical Note

“Vandyked” denotes reproduction by the Van Dyke photographic copying process, indicating that this sheet is a working reproduction copy, rather than a primary engraved or formally published map.

Content and Function (evidence-based)

The map is explicitly linked to:

• A numbered report (M.H.L. 7)
• A defined field season (1927–28)
• A subsequent registration date (1929)
• Continued office use (1930 stamp)

It records:

• Geological interpretation
• Structural measurements
• Infrastructure and operational features

Condition

• Folded, with multiple fold lines
• General toning and handling wear
• Localised creasing and minor abrasions
• All principal cartographic and geological information remains legible
• Some staining to the linen verso, not affecting the map
• In very good condition overall

Condition consistent with field and office use.

Rarity

No identical example of:

• Report M.H.L. 7 – Sheet No. 2 (Qasr-i-Shirin area)

has been identified in accessible catalogues or sales records.

Observable rarity factors:

• Early date (1927–30 working material)
• Direct association with a named internal report and field season
• Corporate registration and office stamp
• Hand-applied geological interpretation
• On-site reproduction at an oilfield centre

These indicate limited production and survival, particularly outside institutional archives.

Material combining:

• Early A.P.O.C. origin
• Internal report linkage
• Geological annotation
• Oilfield infrastructure depiction

is uncommon in the market.

Summary

A geological working map of the Qasr-i-Shirin area, issued as Sheet No. 2 to accompany Report M.H.L. 7, documenting observations from the 1927–28 field season, registered in April 1929, and stamped for geological office use in 1930. The sheet combines printed topography with hand-applied geological colouring and extensive manuscript structural annotation, and includes references to oilfield infrastructure and A.P.O.C. facilities. Reproduced at Masjid-i-Sulaiman, it represents a primary internal document from early oil exploration activity.

Location: HO: Drawer D: 003597

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