Prehistoric to Islamic site discovered in western Iran

Layers of the prehistoric period, the Copper and Stone Period, the Old, Middle and New Bronze Age (Yaniq and Godin III Culture), Iron III (Probably the Medes), the Parthian and different Islamic period were discovered in the salvation exploration on the Tappeh Anuj (Anuj Hill) in Malayer, Hamedan Province.

The Public Relations Office of the Research Institute of Cultural Heritage and Tourism (RICHT)  of Iran quoted Ismail Hemmati Azandaryani, head of the salvation operations on Tappeh Anuj in Malayer, as saying on Sunday that the ancient Anuj Hill (also known as Qala Bolandeh), with a height of 21 meters from the surface, is located in a village of the same name in the city of Malayer.

He pointed to the leveling and excavation of a significant part of the hill in the course of construction of residential houses and said currently, residential houses have surrounded the hill.

Construction of houses on the southern side has been conducted to the surface of the hill, while the site was registered in the list of National Monuments of Iran in 1353 (1974-1975), he added.

Hemmati went on to sayt that with regard to the fact that on the northern side of the hill some parts which had been separated from the main center of the hill had created dangers for the inhabitants of the Anuj Village, therefore, explorations in that area began with the aim of eliminating the probable danger of the remains.

He noted that in order to gain access to the maximum information in the most dangerous and inconvenient part, in the section for stratigraphy scaffolding was applied and then the field research was launched.

He said in the stratigraphy operations valuable results were achieved such as layers dating back to the prehistoric era, Copper and Stone period, the Old, Middle and the New Bronze Age (Yaniq culture and Godin III), iron III (probably Medes), the Parthian and different Islamic periods.

Hemmati stated that with regard to the location of Anuj area in the southern part of Hamedan Province and in the vicinity of the linking corridor towards Boroujerd and Silakhor plain, as well as the connection with the plain leading to the mountain ranges of Green (Nahavand and Kangavar) in view of the archeological studies the site is regarded as being very important.

Prehistoric to Islamic site discovered in western Iran

A $1.2 Million Ancient Persian Sculpture Seized From TEFAF New York Must Be Returned to Iran, Judge Rules

Investigators showed that the work was looted and smuggled from the country in the 1930s.

A $1.2 million ancient Persian limestone sculpture that was seized from TEFAF New York last October must be returned to Iran, a New York Supreme Court judge ruled on Monday.

Police confiscated the eight-inch bas-relief dating to 500 BC from the booth of London antiquities dealer Rupert Wace during the fair.

Depicting a bearded Persian imperial guard holding a spear, the artifact once adorned a building at the ruins of Persepolis during the Achaemenid dynasty (the First Persian Empire). According to the New York Times, the piece was smuggled out of Iran in 1936 and resurfaced when a Canadian collector donated it to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in 1950. After it was stolen from the Canadian museum in 2011, Wace and business partner Sam Fogg bought it from the museum’s insurance company. (The institution opted to let the insurer keep the object instead of being reimbursed.)

Wace and Fogg will not face charges for possessing the artifact. Shortly after it was seized from the fair last fall, Wace told artnet News via email that he and Fogg bought the work legally and in good faith. “We are at a loss to comprehend the events which occurred. This work of art has been well known to scholars and has a history that spans almost 70 years,” he said. However, investigators presented a very detailed provenance that showed the artwork was taken illegally from Iran, and the two dealers agreed to relinquish the artifact so that it can be returned to the country from which it was stolen nearly 80 years ago.

The case is the latest successful repatriation under New York District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. After taking office, Vance formed a dedicated antiquities trafficking unit to keep up with the rising number of such cases in New York City, a major marketplace for illegal artifacts. According to Vance, his office has returned thousands of illicit antiquities since 2012, valued collectively at over $150 million.

A $1.2 Million Ancient Persian Sculpture Seized From TEFAF New York Must Be Returned to Iran, Judge Rules

Sand Storm in Southern Iran Unearths Ancient City

A strong sand storm in Kerman province in southern Iran has led to the discovery of a lost ancient city full of historical relics.

The sand storm unearthed a large part of an ancient city in Negin-e Kavir County near the city of Fahraj in Kerman province.



Clay relics, bones, and brick walls have been discovered in the historical site. Further archeological investigations will be carried out to discover more about the city.

Sand Storm in Southern Iran Unearths Ancient City