Experts trying to recover relics from Iron Age tombs before being submerged in dam waters

TEHRAN – A team of archaeologists and cultural heritage experts have so far discovered 25 tombs at an Iron Age cemetery in Mersin, north-central Semnan province, trying to retrieve relics before the ancient cemetery sinks into the waters of a dam nearby.

77 historical relics, sites identified in plains of Kerman

TEHRAN – A total of 77 historical relics, places, and sites, including ruined fortresses, farmhouses, (archaeological) hills, tombs (or cemeteries), kilns, solo structures, have been identified on the outskirts of Fahraj in Kerman province, southeast Iran.

By Afshin Majlesi

The future of travel in Iran

Ubiquitous face masks, partitions, social distances, customer-service protocols, not-yet-fulfilled refunds, and self-quarantined at home on a mass scale, as well as closed borders, canceled events, and changing policies challenge tourism industry insiders to forecast what the lingering impact of the novel coronavirus could be on the way we travel.

Haul of ancient relics confiscated from smugglers in southern Iran

TEHRAN- Iranian authorities have confiscated a number of historical relics, which are estimated to date back to the Safavid era (1501–1736), from smugglers in Bandar Abbas, the capital city of the southern Hormozgan province.

By Afshin Majlesi

A peek into cemetery tourism in Iran

Tourism is one of the fastest-growing phenomena in our modern world. It always makes new changes to have unforgettable experiences, to create new travel motivators, and to reach new markets. Such a trend results in new tourist spots which were unthinkable only a few years ago!

By Afshin Majlesi

Italian embassy responsible for depicting Tehran-Rome ‘so deep and complete’ cultural ties: envoy

Italian ambassador to Tehran Giuseppe Perrone has said that his embassy is highly responsible for depicting the richness of so deep and so complete cultural ties, which have long been developed between the two nations.

Project to restore Sassanid-era fortress started

TEHRAN – A team of cultural heritage experts and restorers has started a project on Qaleh Kohneh, aiming to rehabilitate parts of the ruined Sassanid-era (224 CE–651) fortress, which is situated in Meshkinshahr county, northwest Iran.

By Afshin Majlesi

Pigeon towers significant but strange buildings of ancient times

Pigeons are many times deemed as mere nuisances especially by city dwellers. However, they were quite valuable in ancient Iran, mostly for their droppings!

Relics dating back to Parthian, Samanid eras recovered

TEHRAN – Iranian police have confiscated ancient relics from five smugglers and illegal antique dealers in Zanjan, west-central Iran.

Police bust gang smuggling antiques in northern Iran

TEHRAN – Iranian authorities have recently busted a smuggling gang that was illegally trading ancient relics in Sari, northern Mazandaran province, IRNA reported.

In Focus: Grand Bazaar of Kerman

As one of the oldest trading centers in Iran, the grand Bazaar of Kerman embraces a variety of mazes, intersections, entrances, and passageways.

Museum featuring splendid Sassanid column capitals inaugurated in western Iran

TEHRAN – A museum dedicated to stone column capitals lavishly carved in the Sassanid era (224–651) was opened to the public on Thursday in Kermanshah province, western Iran.

Ancient relics smuggled to Austria back home

TEHRAN -  A batch of Iranian ancient relics, which had been smuggled to Austria, was recovered and surrendered to a representative of the Islamic Republic in Vienna on Thursday.

A peek into Bronze-Age Tepe Gariran, a gateway to the “Old Routes of Western Iran”

TEHRAN – In 1931, the renowned British archaeologist Sir Marc Aurel Stein (1862 – 1943) surveyed Tepe Gariran in western Iran along with several others across the ancient land. His views were published in November 1969 in a book titled “Old Routes of Western Iran: Narratives of an Archaeological Journey”.

Archaeological survey identifies 205 relics, ancient sites in Kerman

TEHRAN – A total of 205 relics and ancient sites have been identified during an archaeological survey in Kuhbanan, the southeastern Kerman province, suggesting that the region has long been a hub for Tutia (vitriol) production and the main corridor for human migration into the eastern parts of the Asian continent.

Ancient horse remains discovered in central Iran

TEHRAN – An ancient burial containing the remains of a horse -- estimated to be four years old -- has been discovered by archaeologists in Tepe Ashraf, the sole archaeological hill in Isfahan, central Iran.

By Afshin Majlesi

Excavation sheds new light on mysterious capital of Medes in Ecbatana

TEHRAN – Archaeologists have unearthed new cultural relics and architectural vestiges that sheds a new light on the mysterious capital of Medes, which is widely believed to be in Ecbatana, an ancient city on the site of which stands the modern city of Hamadan in west-central Iran.

Tens of historical areas, relics identified in western Iran

TEHRAN – A total number of 65 centuries-old areas and relics have been found during an archeological season, which recently came to end in Sirvan plain, western province of Ilam.

Iranian cave estimated to date over 63,000 years

TEHRAN – Nearly one decade of archaeological surveys at Kaldar cave has concluded that parts of this western Iranian shelter date more than 63,000 years.

Millennia-old relics confiscated in northwest Iran

TEHRAN – A batch of prehistorical relics, estimated to date from the time of Mannaeans in the early 1st millennium BC, has recently been seized from an antique dealer near the city of Bukan, West Azarbaijan province, northwest Iran.

Discovery of bizarre tomb offers clues to ancient life in Isfahan

TEHRAN – The discovery of the second giant jar-tomb in the sole historical hill of Isfahan has shed new light on ancient human life in the central Iranian city.

Aerial survey sheds new light on vast ancient city in southern Iran

TEHRAN – An in-depth aerial survey combined by series of field research has shed new light on remnants of a vast ancient city in southern Iran, which was once in the heart of the mighty Sassanid Empire in its heyday. The discovery has opened up a new window towards the urban engineering and Persian garden arrangements of the time.

355 historical relics to be restored in Ilam

TEHRAN – A total of 355 historical relics are up for restoration by teams of cultural heritage experts and restorers in the western province of Ilam, CHTN reported. 

Over 5,000 ancient relics confiscated from antique dealer

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

By Afshin Majlesi

Explore mausoleum of Esther and Mordechai

The purported burial site of Purim’s Persian queen and a pilgrimage site for Iranian Jews

TEHRAN – The mausoleum of Esther and Mordechai is a Jewish shrine in the city of Hamedan, west-central Iran, where, according to Judeo-Persian tradition is the burial site of the two cousins who played a pivotal role in the Book of Esther (also known as the Megillah).

Sadeh, the ancient festival of mid-winter, added to national heritage list

TEHRAN – Jashn-e Sadeh has been registered on Iran’s National Intangible Cultural Heritage list in a bid to preserve the ancient festival of mid-winter. 

Another archaeological season to commence on Laodicea Temple

TEHRAN – A team of Iranian archaeologists is to conduct a fresh survey on the enigmatic Laodicea Temple, which is situated in the city of Nahavand, Hamedan province, west-central Iran.

Awe-inspiring, ancient and lonely: Zahhak Castle

Sightseers pay a visit to the ruined Zahhak Castle which is perched on a hillside near Hashtroud, northwest Iran, on May 19, 2020. 

Seven-thousand-year-old clay vessels unearthed in Iran

TEHRAN – A total of six clay vessels, which believed to date back to the fifth millennium BC, have recently been unearned in Moushelan Tepe, a significant archaeological site 65 km west of Tehran. 

Iron Age relics unveiled in Zanjan

TEHRAN – A total of 32 pre-historical objects, estimated to date from the Iron Age, were unveiled at the Zolfaqari Museum of the northwestern Zanjan province on Monday to mark International Museum Day.