TEHRAN Iran has launched extensive efforts in cooperation with the Interpol for the return of a mummy which is of an ancient Iranian royal family member which was smuggled to Pakistan.
This was announced by the Director General of the Cultural Property Department of the Cultural Heritage Organization, Faeq Tohidi.
Tohidi told IRNA Wednesday that on the basis of existing evidence the embalmed corpse definitely belongs to Iran, adding that contradictory statements made within and outside the country will not diminish the significance of the issue.
He further added that remarks made by those who had possession of the embalmed corpse and official statements of Pakistani police testify to the fact that the mummy was smuggled out of the country.
He warned that any attempt at deviating public opinion by attributing the ancient remains to other countries cannot undermine the efforts of the Islamic Republic of Iran to have them returned.
Tohidi said that with the dispatch of its experts to Pakistan, the organization will soon find out the real identity of the embalmed corpse.
Given the cuneiform scripts engraved on the coffin, experts believe that it dates back to some 2500 years ago -- the time when the Achaemenid dynasty ruled Iran.
Police officials and experts of historical monuments in Sistan-Baluchestan, southeast Iran, say the corpse was unearthed during archaeological excavations conducted in the Burnt City and was smuggled outside the country in the post-revolution era.
The embalmed corpse was recently seized by Pakistani police from smugglers on the Iran-Pakistan border.
Archaeological excavations in the Burnt City have revealed evidences of civilization dating back to 3200 B.C. which remained intact up to around 2100-2000 B.C. and during the four successive periods in history.
Italian archaeologists launched excavations on the area from 1967 to 1979, which saw the victory of the Islamic Revolution.
After the revolution the work was continued by Iranian archaeologists.
(IRNA)