Tuesday, 22nd May 2007 (2533 views)

Some 488 ancient golden relics have now been unearthed from a small rural town in Iran.

Known as the Ramhormoz treasure, the hoard was discovered some weeks ago and though to date back as far as 3400 BC. However, there was a certain amount of confusion over just how many gold and earthenware artefacts there were.

Fears were also raised over the possibility of smugglers taking advantage of the find, which date to the Elamite (3400-550 BC), Achaemenid (550-330 BC) and Parthian (248 BC-224 AD) periods. Police therefore seized control of the hoard for safekeeping.

Among the find were five gold 'rings of power' which were thought to belong to a powerful ruler or king in the area. One bears a cuneiform inscription which is thought to have been created by the Sumerians around 3000 BC.

The 488 pieces were found by the Khuzestan Regional Water Company during excavations at a 2,500-year-old site in Iran. The treasure will now go on display at either in Iran's National Museum in Tehran or in Ahvaz, the provincial capital of Khuzestan.

 

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