TEHRAN – Iranian authorities have confiscated a batch of 80 historical objects from a smuggler in western Iran, a senior police official in charge of protecting cultural heritage said on Sunday, ISNA reported.

The objects were recovered from a suspected car which was stopped by police forces for an inspection in Selseleh county of Lorestan province, Mohammadreza Moradian explained.

The objects included an ax head, bead, metal ring, ring, and a plate, the police official said.

The culprit was detained and surrendered to the judicial system for further investigation, he noted.

Lorestan is a region of raw beauty that an avid nature lover could spend weeks exploring. The region was inhabited by Iranian Indo-European peoples, including the Medes, c. 1000 BC. Cimmerians and Scythians intermittently ruled the region from about 700 to 625 BC.

The Luristan Bronzes noted for their eclectic array of Assyrian, Babylonian, and Iranian artistic motifs, date from this turbulent period. Lorestan was incorporated into the growing Achaemenid Empire in about 540 BC and successively was part of the Seleucid, Parthian, and Sasanid dynasties.

AFM/