Ancient Artefacts, Antiquities Discovered in Northern Iran

The police chief of the northern Iranian province of Mazandaran, Brigadier General Mahmoud Mir-Feizi, announced that local police forces have found a number of multi-thousand-year-old antiquities and artefacts dating back to the time of Sassanid (224-651 AD) and Parthian (247 BC-224 AD) empires in an anti-narcotics operation in the capital, Sari.

According to a Farsi report by the Mehr News Agency, Mir-Feizi added upon receiving a report about an individual’s involvement in making and distributing narcotics in a place disguised as a legal trade unit in Sari, conducting investigations into the case was placed on the agenda of Mazandaran Province’s anti-narcotics police.

“Following careful investigations by anti-narcotics police forces, the culprit was identified. He was, then, chased and watched carefully by the police forces.”

He said the police forces located the place he reportedly produced the drugs, and raided the place and carried out a thorough inspection.

“In the course of the inspection, they found a safe in which more than 80 antiquities and artefacts were kept. The items included a white bowl made of zinc, a bronze bracelet, a white zinc plate, a bronze hand-bell, a jewelled ring, a bronze ring, a glazed urn, a clay tallow-burner, an agate bead, a metal object, a buckle, a bronze spoon and a bronze piece of glass.”

Mir-Feizi said the experts of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handcrafts and Tourism Organization maintain that the discovered antique objects date back to the time of Sassanid and Parthian empires.

The person accused of smuggling the artefacts and antiquities was captured and handed over to related judicial authorities, he added.