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Ancient Relics Seized in Tehran Subway Station

Ancient Relics Seized in Tehran Subway Station
Ancient Relics Seized in Tehran Subway Station

Police officers patrolling Sadeqieh Subway Station in western Tehran confiscated 30 relics worth an estimated 30 billion rials ($870,000) last week from a man who claimed to have brought them from Iraq.

The officers became suspicious of a man carrying a rice gunny bag and arrested him while he was getting off at a station and discovered the relics, each wrapped in a separate piece of cloth.  

The man, who introduced himself as Mehdi, at first refused to talk but further interrogation revealed he had smuggled the artifacts from Iraq, ISNA reported.

The objects have been handed over to the Tehran office of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization.

Cultural heritage officials have confirmed the authenticity of the objects but “more study is needed to definitively determine the civilization,” according to Mohammad Reza Nemati, Tehran Province’s chief archeologist.

“There’s a good chance they belonged to people living in Mesopotamia,” he added.

The gunny bag seized by the authorities contained six Sassanid-era scent bottles, several bronze bangles and flags belonging to the first millennium BC.

Four earthen tablets, three bracelets and five Kohl containers were also among the objects.

Financialtribune.com