TEHRAN – A total of thirteen historical objects have recently been confiscated from a smuggler in Hamedan, according to a senior police official in charge of protecting cultural heritage.

Recovered from the house of the smuggler, the objects date from various periods including the prehistorical times and the Islamic era, IRIB reported.   

The accused was traced and lastly arrested after the police received reports from cultural heritage aficionados about the [illegal] possession of the relics. The police detained and surrendered him to the judicial system for further investigation.

Known in classical times as Ecbatana, Hamedan was once one of the world’s greatest cities of ancient times. Pitifully little remains from antiquity, but significant parts of the city center are given over to excavations, and there’s a scattering of historical curiosities.

Sprawling on a high plain, Hamedan is graciously cool in August but snow prone and freezing from December to March. In summer the air is often hazy, but on a rare, clear spring day there are impressive glimpses of snow-capped Alvand Kuh (3580m), sitting aloof above the ragged neocolonial cupolas of Imam Khomeini Sq.

AFM