Qaleh Kharabeh (Persian: قلعه خرابه, also Romanized as Qal‘eh Kharābeh)[1] is the archaeological site of a 5th-century fort in the Gorgan Plain, in Golestan Province in northeastern Iran.
The fort may have served as a barracks for soldiers defending the wall or may have been used by civilians, but its neat layout suggest it had a military origin.
On the eastern side of the fort were rows of what appeared to be small enclosures; perhaps these were where gullies had been dug surrounding tents or other temporary buildings.
[3] Pottery found during excavations indicates that the fort was occupied for a relatively short period, during the earlier part of the wall's history.
The diet of the occupants included fish, presumably transported from the Caspian Sea which lies 45 km (28 mi) to the west.