Large Number of 5,000-Years-Old Artefacts Confiscated from Smugglers - CAIS Archaeological & Cultural News of Iranian World©

LONDON, (CAIS) -- A large number of 5000 year-old relics were seized from smugglers in the Iranian province of Kerman by the Cultural Heritage Police Department of the province.

“The police were able to seize more than 2000 historic relics and arrest a large number of antique smugglers in the cities of Jiroft, Kahnouj, Anbar Abad, and Baft. These ancient articles belong to the historic site of Halil Rud, Kerman Province,” said Hossein Rashidzadeh, head of the cultural heritage police department of Kerman.

“New discoveries which revealed valuable new information about Jiroft civilization overturned the world’s previous conceptions regarding the age of civilization and attracted the attention of world archeologists to this historic site,” added Rashidzadeh. He also announced that on May 23rd, there will be a seminar on the Harandi Garden-Museum of Kerman to discuss the Jiroft civilization and asked cultural heritage enthusiasts and those interested in the rich civilization of Jiroft to attend this meeting.

Halil Rud historical site, located near the city of Jiroft in Kerman Province, was one of the first places where civilization and urbanization were established. Studies on this historical site indicate that the region, especially the ancient city of Kenar-Sandal in Halil Rud historical site, was the commercial link between neighbouring territories, and the Persian Gulf region, some 5000 years ago. So far, 120 historical sites have been discovered on the 400-kilometer basin of Halil Rud River.

A large number of stone, clay, and architectural remains from the third millennium BCE were discovered during archeological excavations in the site. Illegal excavations of the smugglers in this historical site resulted in the loss of some invaluable evidence. These historical treasures were then sold to museums and private collections outside the country. Therefore, Iran’s government has asked an international court to be set up to identify these relics.