US Returns Antiquities to Iran
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian cultural heritage officials on Wednesday received 108 ancient artifacts known as the Chogha Mish Collections from the US University of Chicago officials, marking the second successful return of Iranian artifacts in recent months.
After a series of legal battles with the United States, Chogha Mish artifacts dating back to 6000 years ago were returned to Iran's National Museum in Tehran.
Gil Stein, the director of the University of Chicago's Oriental Institute, delivered the artifacts to officials from Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handcrafts and Tourism Organization at Imam Khomeini Airport.
Chogha Mish artifacts were officially on loan from Iran from April 1, 1964 for three years to be studied. However, the American side declined to return the artifacts in due time.
After more than 35 years of legal proceedings, US appeals court ruled that the artifacts should be returned to where they originally belonged to, namely Iran.
Chogha Mish was a regional center during the late Uruk period of Mesopotamia and is important today for information about the development of writing. At Chogha Mish, evidence begins with an accounting system using clay tokens, over time changing to clay tablets with marks, finally to the cuneiform writing system.
This is the second successful return of Iranian artifacts from other countries in less than a year. Earlier in December, an appeals court in Belgium's eastern city of Liège ruled that the country's authorities restitute 349 smuggled artifacts to Iran.
Praising the efforts made by the Iranian legal team in returning the valuable antiques, President Rouhani had noted that such moves show the resolve of the government in "safeguarding the rights of the Iranian nation."
