TEHRAN - Iranian authorities have recently confiscated tens of historical coins and relics from two suspects in Ramshir, southwestern Khuzestan province.

“A total of 61 ancient coins and relics were recovered from two antique dealers while they were making a bargain,” a local tourism official said, IRIB reported on Sunday.

48 of the seized objects are estimated to date back to Elymais kingdom that was semi-independent state of the 2nd century BC to the early 3rd century CE, frequently a vassal under Parthian control, and located at the head of the Persian Gulf in the present-day region of Khuzestan.

Other objects included a Drachma coin dating back to the Parthian era (247 BC–224 CE), two Islamic coins, 9 coins dating back to the era of the advent of Islam, and another Islamic coin dating back to the 11th century, gold-plated silver buttons, 22 opal beads, metal bracelets, a gunmetal ring and different metal pieces, which were spotted by a metal detector, the official explained.

The ancient province is home to three UNESCO World Heritage sites of Susa, Tchogha Zanbil and Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System yet it is a region of raw beauty where its visitors could spend weeks exploring. The province is also a cradle for handicrafts and arts whose crafters inherited from their preceding generations.

AFM/MG