UK Returns the Looted Iranian Artifacts

Thursday, 10 February 2005

A number of 87 looted artifacts from the Jiroft civilizations in southwest Iran over 3,000 years ago were returned to the Iranian embassy in London Wednesday.

The return of the Iranian national heritage, which were believed to have been smuggled into Britain via the Arab countries, comes after a further 13 pieces were handed back to the Iranian embassy last month.

The artifacts were understood to have been discovered at auction houses in London following reports that hoards of Jiroft objects, with their distinctive engravings of animals, mythological figures, and architectural motifs, were flooding markets in Europe.

Iranian officials in London praised the assistance of the British museum in confirming the authenticity and ownership of the antiquities when they were confiscated.

Jiroft in southeastern province of Kerman is one of the world's earliest civilizations in Iran and Mesopotamia between the fourth and third millennia BCE.

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