TEHRAN – Some 5,415 ancient relics have recently been confiscated from a smuggler in Gonbad-e Kavus, northern Golestan province.

The accused was traced and arrested in his home after police received reports from cultural heritage aficionados about him dealing relics, said provincial tourism chief Ahmad Tajari, CHTN reported on Friday.

Recovered objects include 5,120 coins, 291 metal fittings and 22 bronze utensils, he added. 

He also noted that the authenticity of the discovered objects will be announced later after the examination by cultural heritage experts. 

Gonbad-e Kavus is home to a UNESCO-inscribed brick tower of the same name that is of high architectural importance as an exemplar design of the early-Islamic-era architecture.

Narratives say the tower has influenced various subsequent designers of tomb towers and other cylindrical commemorative structures both in the region and beyond. The UNESCO comments that tower bears testimony to the cultural exchange between Central Asian nomads and the ancient civilization of Iran.

ABU/MG