Cyrus the Great' Cylinder won’t Re-visit Home

The Cyrus the Great' Cylinder, widely-believed to be the first manifest of human rights written over 2,500 years ago, by the founder of the Achaemenid dynasty, is unlikely to be lent by the British Museum to Iran by 2007, a source told CHN.

Recently British newspaper Independent reported that The British Museum is to lend Iran one of its most famous antiquities, which is regarded as the first charter of human rights, 30 years after its loan to the Shah triggered a fierce diplomatic row.

A source close to the National Museum of Iran said since the renovation project of the museum is scheduled to begin in October by an Italian team and would likely last for 2 years, it is unlikely the cylinder could be borrowed earlier, especially due to the fact that the British Museum has made the renovation project a prerequisite for lending the artifact.

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