TEHRAN – Lorestan’s tourism chief has announced that a 9,000-year-old skull, along with 77 other ancient artifacts, have been returned to the western province for a loan exhibition after being housed at the National Museum of Iran for decades.

In an interview with ISNA, Atta Hassanpour stated that under the directive of the Minister of Cultural Heritage and with the cooperation of the ministry’s  Director General of Museums and the head of the National Museum of Iran, these 78 ancient artifacts have been sent to Lorestan.

They will be showcased at the archaeology museum of Falak-ol-Aflak Fortress, a historic site in Khorramabad, the capital of Lorestan province.

“Among these artifacts is a human skull, dating back 9,000 years to the Neolithic period, which was originally unearthed from the Abdu’l Hossein Tepe site in Delfan.”

Other notable items include stone objects from the Homian and Mir Malas shelters in Kuhdasht, as well as from the Yafteh, Qomri, and Konji caves in the region.

Hassanpour explained that these objects were excavated by foreign archaeological teams in the 1960s. Their return to Lorestan is part of a cultural initiative tied to a UNESCO evaluation [of the fortress and its cultural landscape] scheduled for this September, which is related to the prehistoric caves in the Khorramabad Valley.

He also mentioned that the exhibition will feature prehistoric animal remains, which will go on show before the UNESCO evaluation takes place.

The loan exhibition is expected to be highly welcomed by local cultural heritage enthusiasts as it reconnects these ancient treasures with their place of origin and offers the public a rare glimpse into Lorestan's rich prehistoric past.

Falak-ol-Aflak is an unmissable eight-towered fortress that dominates Khorramabad’s skyline. It seems particularly imposing and dramatic when floodlit at night, offering picturesque views of its encircling crenelated battlements.

Some experts believe that Falak-ol-Aflak is comparable with similar works in Naqsh-e Rostam, Naqsh-e Rajab, Tape Chugan, and Firuzabad in Fars province.

AM