TEHRAN –Iranian authorities have recently arrested four illegal excavators and antique smugglers in Sari, the capital of Mazandaran province, CHTN reported on Tuesday.

The accused people were traced and finally arrested while digging for historical objects after the authorities received reports from cultural heritage aficionados about their lawbreaking, said Mohammadreza Kordan, a senior police official in charge of protecting cultural heritage. 

A metal detector and some excavation tools and equipment have been seized from the culprits who were surrendered to the judicial system for further investigation, the official added. 

Soaked in a vibrant history, Mazandaran (also known as Tabarestan) was a cradle of civilization since the beginning of the first millennium BC. According to Britannica Encyclopedia, it was almost overrun in about 720 CE by the Arab raiders. Its insecure eastern and southeastern borders were crossed by Mongol invaders in the 13th and 14th centuries. Cossacks attacked the region in 1668 but were repulsed.

Tabarestan was ceded to the Russian Empire by a treaty in 1723, but the Russians were never secure in their occupation. The area was restored to Iran under the Qajar dynasty. The northern section of the region consists of a lowland alongside the Caspian and an upland along the northern slopes of the Alborz Mountains.

ABU/AFM