Iran gets 1,100 Achaemenid-era clay tablets back from US

TEHRAN, Iran (AA) – Iran has reclaimed 1,100 clay tablets dating back to the Achaemenid Empire (550-330 BC) that were sent to the US for research purposes in 1936.

According to Iranian state television, the artefacts were flown back to Iran on a plane carrying President Masoud Pezeshkian, who was returning from New York after taking part in the 79th session of the UN General Assembly.

Ali Darabi, Deputy Minister of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, said the tablets were uncovered during archaeological excavations near Persepolis in 1932 and subsequently taken abroad for study in 1936.

Darabi noted that this was not the first return of such artefacts, as some were previously sent back, with the last shipment containing 3,506 items arriving last year.

He said the latest tablets that were returned provide insights into daily life during the Achaemenid period, featuring writings in cuneiform and Elamite scripts. The artefacts will undergo a 72-hour quarantine at the National Museum of Iran before further study begins.

During the Shah’s era, an agreement was established between Iran and the University of Chicago’s Oriental Institute to study over 30,000 clay tablets from the Persian Empire for three years. The tablets were sent to the Institute in 1936, with plans for their eventual return.

Previous returns occurred in 1948, 1950, 2004 and most recently in 2023. The artefacts returned last year were officially unveiled at the national museum during a ceremony on International Museum Day on May 18.