US returns to Iran latest batch of ancient clay tablets / Photo: © AFP/File
-
First-time boat buyers advised to assess full ownership costs
-
Panthers expected to begin 2027 NRL season away from new stadium
-
Planning and preparation can reduce stress of interstate relocation
-
Sweet As app launches restaurant discovery platform
-
Two more arrested in Carrie Mullane suspected murder investigation
-
MLA seeks inquiry into reported sectarian gestures on Ormeau Road
-
Mayo school appeals for information after convent and chapel vandalism
-
Louise O’Reilly attacks Simon Harris over unemployment remarks
-
Virginia overwhelms Arkansas 91-72 behind balanced scoring
-
Canadian soldier Aidan Goulding remembered at Vancouver funeral
-
Second major storm brings destructive winds and outages to British Columbia
-
Tayyab Arif hits 57 on Pakistan Test debut against Sri Lanka
-
Godzilla Minus Zero leads North American box office with $31.6m
-
Robert Trujillo discusses literacy and social justice children’s books
-
Advocate calls for coordinated support for children facing trafficking
-
Civil rights advocate William Bill Tucker dies aged 98
-
Pennsylvania Democrats secure state trifecta in midterm elections
-
Irish Deputy Principal Warns Against Measuring Teacher Goodwill in Pay Talks
-
US Treasury order targets bank transfers linked to crypto exchange MEXC
-
Godzilla Minus Zero sets foreign-language box-office opening record
-
Eagles record six sacks as rushing attack struggles against Giants
-
Villeneuve teases James Bond casting at Los Angeles museum gala
-
Thames Water seeks to delay £12bn in debt repayments
-
Harry Britt’s Political Legacy Contrasts Sharply With Scott Wiener’s Record
-
Nottinghamshire launches specialist rural crime policing team
-
Newark boxing gym expands alternative education programme
-
China confirms talks over possible Xi-Putin-Trump summit
-
Democrats consider impeachment drive against Defence Secretary Hegseth
-
Rail journey offers a slower route to a Berlin city break
-
Energy bill plan could use HMRC income data to target support
-
Arsenal control title race as Manchester United fall into bottom three
-
Business owner earning £6,000 a month tackles £70,000 debt
-
Suspected Krakow gunman dies after attack that killed six
-
Nvidia chief faces inquiry after disclosing affair with suspected Chinese agent
-
Carrick backs Dalot after hostile reception from Manchester United fans
-
Comet returns as online electrical marketplace 14 years after collapse
-
Belgian PM Bart De Wever Given New Deadline to Resolve €10 Billion Budget Deadlock
-
Aston Villa Defy History With Rare Victory at Old Trafford
-
Solihull Hospital Performs First Robotic-Assisted Gynaecological Cancer Surgeries
-
Qatar Airways Launches Bogotá-Caracas-Doha Route Linking Energy Markets
US returns to Iran latest batch of ancient clay tablets
The United States has returned to Iran more than 1,000 clay tablets dating from the Achaemenid-era, official media said, reporting the sixth such handover of its kind.
Iran's official IRNA news agency said Thursday evening that the tablets, 1,100 in all, were returned with President Masoud Pezeshkian who had attended the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Found at the ruins of Persepolis, the capital of the Persian Achaemenid Empire which ruled from the 6th to 4th centuries BC in southern Iran, the repatriated tablets reflect how the ancient society was organised and its economy managed.
The tablets constitute records of "the rituals and the way of life of our ancestors", said Ali Darabi, vice-minister of cultural heritage, cited by IRNA.
The tablets were returned to Iran by the University of Chicago's Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures, West Asia & North Africa, formerly known as the Oriental Institute.
A large portion of the tablets were returned in three batches between 1948 and 2004 before the rest were blocked by legal action until 2018.
More than 3,500 tablets were repatriated in September, 2023.
"The American side undertook to return the rest," Darabi said, cited by Iran's ISNA news agency.
R.Flueckiger--VB