Boston Museum of Fine Arts Gets Favorable Court Ruling

This is very interesting.  Does this mean that sometime in the future this case will be used a precedent when the Iranian Nazi government sues the Boston Museum of Fine Arts to get back artifacts it claims belong to the "Islamic Republic of Iran?"

Court Ruling Protects Persian Artifacts in Massachusetts
Source: National Iranian American Council (NIAC, Washington, DC

A ruling by a Massachusetts District Court yesterday will protect ancient Persian artifacts housed at Harvard University and Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts from being seized as part of an attempt collect damages against the Iranian government.

In his ruling, District Judge George O’Toole, determined that the antiquities housed at Harvard University and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts are not the property of the Iranian government and thus cannot be seized as part of a court case against that government.

While the decision was a victory for the university and museum community and Iranian Americans who do not want to see priceless cultural relics confiscated and auctioned off to the highest bidder, it does not apply to artifacts outside of Massachusetts.

Collections are also being targeted across the country in separate cases in Illinois, California, and Michigan. It will most likely be years before these cases are decided.
The National Iranian American Council has led efforts on behalf of the Iranian-American community to protect the Persian artifacts and supports amending the law to protect cultural property such as the Persepolis tablets.

“Today’s ruling will help protect Persian relics in Massachusetts, but elsewhere around the country the Persepolis Tablets remain threatened,” said NIAC President Trita Parsi. “The only way to ensure the Persepolis Tablets are protected is if Congress fixes the legal loophole that put these items in jeopardy in the first place.”

An amendment to close the legal loophole exists, but has not been passed by Congress. NIAC continues to press for the Persepolis amendment, which would protect all cultural items held by universities, museums and libraries, to be passed into law.

NIAC has also requested the White House’s intervention in order to protect the Persepolis tablets, and has submitted an amicus brief on behalf of the Iranian-American community to the court to ensure the Iranian-American community’s heritage is protected.

... Payvand News - 09/24/11 ... --

Extracts of Cyrus Cylinder Found Engraved on Horse Bones in China!

Yep, it's no April Fool's joke - it's real.  So says Irving Finkel, a name well known to games historians.

Extracts of Cyrus Cylinder found in China
British Museum curator has identified cuneiform text inscribed on horse bones
By Martin Bailey | From issue 215, July-August 2010
Published online 2 Aug 10 (News)

LONDON. Two fossilised horse bones with cuneiform inscriptions have been found in China, carved with extracts from the Cyrus Cylinder. They were initially dismissed as fakes because of the improbability of ancient Persian texts turning up in Beijing. But following new research, British Museum (BM) specialist Irving Finkel is now convinced of their authenticity.

This discovery looks set to transform our knowledge about what is arguably the most important surviving cuneiform text, written in the world’s earliest script. Dating from 539BC, the Cyrus Cylinder was ceremonially buried in the walls of Babylon. Its text celebrates the achievements of Cyrus the Great, ruler of the Persian empire. The clay cylinder was excavated by BM archaeologists in 1879 and sent to London, where it is one of the museum’s most important antiquities.

The texts found in China inexplicably have fewer than one in every 20 of the Cyrus text’s cuneiform signs transcribed, although they are in the correct order. The two inscribed bones were donated to the Palace Museum in Beijing in 1985 by Xue Shenwei, an elderly Chinese traditional doctor who died later that year. He said that he had learned about the pair of inscriptions in 1928. He bought the first bone in 1935 and the second in 1940, and named the sellers. Xue acquired them because he thought they were written in an unknown ancient script, presumably from China. In 1966, during the Cultural Revolution, he buried the bones for protection, digging them up later. Chinese scholars who have pursued the story believe that Xue’s account is credible.

In 1983 Xue offered the bones to the Palace Museum in the Forbidden City, which collects inscriptions. It was then that specialists told him they were written in cuneiform. It was not until two years later, when Xue donated the objects, that specialist Wu Yuhong realised that the text of the first bone came from the Cyrus proclamation (the text of the second was not identified).

The discovery
Until this year it was generally assumed that the Cyrus Cylinder was a unique object, created for ceremonial burial, and that the text had not been disseminated. Then in January two fragments of an inscribed clay tablet in the BM’s collection were found to contain part of the proclamation, suggesting that it might have been widely copied. Finkel returned to the pair of Chinese bones, to reconsider whether they might be authentic. He realised that the text on the second bone was also from the Cyrus proclamation (which had been missed in 1985), and requested more information from Beijing.

Chinese Assyriologist Yushu Gong went to the Palace Museum store to examine the bones, and also arranged a new rubbing of the inscription (done with black wax on paper), which provides a much better image of the text than existing photographs. Yushu took these to London, for a workshop that was held at the BM on 23-24 June.

Are the bones fakes?
The obvious question is whether the inscriptions are fakes—although they would be bizarre objects to fake. Why would a faker use fossilised horse bone, a material never used before for this purpose? If the bones had indeed been acquired by Xue by 1940, it would not have been easy for a Chinese forger to have gained access to the Cyrus text, which only became widely known later in the 20th century. Why would a faker have carved only one in 20 of the characters, which meant that it took years before the Cyrus text was identified? And why would a faker have sold the bones in China, where there has been virtually no market for non-Chinese antiquities?

The clinching factor for Finkel is that the partial text on the bones differs slightly from that on the Cyrus Cylinder, although it is correct in linguistic terms. Cuneiform changed over the centuries, and the signs on the bones are in a less evolved form than that of the cylinder. The individual wedge-like strokes of the signs are also different and have a slightly v-shaped top, a form that was not used in Babylon, but was used by scribes in Persia.

“The text used by the copier on the bones was not the Cyrus Cylinder, but another version, probably originally written in Persia, rather than Babylon,” Finkel believes. It could have been a version carved on stone, written with ink on leather, or inscribed on a clay tablet. Most likely the original object was sent during the reign of Cyrus to the far east of his empire, in the west of present-day China.

Scholars at the workshop had little time to digest the new evidence, and inevitably there was some scepticism. But Finkel concludes that the evidence is “completely compelling”. He is convinced that the bones have been copied from an authentic version of the Cyrus proclamation, although it is unclear at what point in the past 2,500 years the copying was done.

The Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies Makes Strong Statement --

We all know what's going on in Iran with respect to the wholesale looting by the regime of pre-Islamic Iranian antiquities (and the destruction of sites that they cannot figure out a way to make quick money on).  This doesn't get much (if any) coverage in the mainstream press, but the systematic destruction of everything in Iran that is pre-Islamic is a fact of life.  The idiots who were in this country didn't know what they were destroying back in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries when they plowed over Indian mounds or blew them up to make "skyscrapers" (the same cannot be said for developers today, as I try to point out by publishing articles here) -- but the dudes who are running things in Iran right now - they DO know. Oh yeah. 

CAIS has the guts tell it like it is -- they did so once again in this article:

An Ancient Subterranean Secret Complex Discovered in Hamadan Province
Tuesday, 27 July 2010 04:14

LONDON, (CAIS) -- An ancient network of secret tunnels and dwellings has been discovered in Hamedan Province.  The Iranian province lies in an elevated region, with the 'Alvand' mountains, running from the north west to the south west.

The discovered complex is located near the village of Arzanfud, 25 kilometres southeast of the provincial capital-city of Hamedan, the Hamedan Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Department (HCHTHD) announced Saturday in a press release.

The complex is comprised of 25 rooms connected to each other by several tunnels, had been excavated beneath a stone mound extending deep into the earth at a depth of 4 to 6 meters.

The complex is believed to have been used by habitants as a shelter during wars.

The entrance to the subterranean complex which is hidden or disguised yet to be discovered, but at the moment it is accessible through an original ventilation shaft, widened by HCHTHD’s experts for access.

There are holes carved in the walls, which had been made to hold early light fixtures. A cot has also been identified in the structure.

A number of stone rings and clasps have also been among the discovered artefacts.

According to initial studies, the city likely dates back to the first Iranian dynasty, the Medes (728-550 BCE) or much later to the Parthian dynasty (248 BCE – 224 CE).

No more details were released by the government-controlled organisation about the discovery.

Since March 2009, Iranian archaeologists are banned giving interviews or reveal any information about the ICHTHO or the status of Iranian archaeology. By implementing such a ban the theocratic-totalitarian regime has closed the only reliable avenue for obtaining the accurate information about the status of the archaeological discoveries and the cultural treasures recovered from the sites. [Emphasis added by Jan]

By some reports, the number of priceless artefacts passed to the Iranian museums by ICHTHO, especially those made of precious metals recovered from the sites have been fallen drastically.

The illicit antiquities trade and selling Iranian historical relics to the European markets and private collectors worldwide has become one of the most lucrative revenues for the ruling clerics and their families.

Since the rise of the Islamic Regime to power in 1979, not only the smuggling and looting of Iranian art and antiquity, but a deliberate destruction, mainly Iran’s pre-Islamic heritage have been systematic and widespread. These destructions have been increased since the appointment of Mahmood Ahmadinajad as the president by the Ali Khamanei, the regime's Spiritual Leader.

Historical background:

Hamedan province is one of the most ancient parts of Iran and its civilisation. Today's it capital city of same name, is the remains of the ancient Ecbatana.

According to historical records, there was once a castle in this city by the name of Haft Hessar (Seven Walls) which had a thousand rooms and its grandeur equalled that of the Babylon Tower.

The foundation of city are related to Diya Aku, a the first Iranian historical King, who founded the first Iranian dynasty, the Medes.

During the third Iranian dynasty, the Parthians, Ctesiphon was chosen as the political and winter capital of the empire and Hamedan became the summer capital and residence of the Arasacid King of Kinds. After the the fall of Parthian dynasty, the Sasanian dynasty (224-651 CE) constructed their summer palaces in Hamedan as well.

After the battle of Nahavand in 642 CE, Hamedan fell to the hands of the invading Arabs; the city was pillaged, the most of the inhabitants were massacred and the survivors forced to accept Islam.

Avicenna (c. 980 - 1037 also Pur Sina, Ibn Sina), the foremost Persian physician, philosopher and one of the world's greatest polymath is buried in that city.

Parthian Grave/Artifacts Found In Iraq

Unfortunately, no much of a description of the magnificent finds was given! What are they? Parthian grave with astounding artifacts found in Iraq By Mohened Ali Azzaman, November 19, 2009 An Iraqi excavation team has uncovered a grave with magnificent finds dating to the Parthian period. The grave’s artifacts have astonished scientists for their beauty and magnificence. “The discovery includes 216 artifacts all belonging to the Parthian Period,” said Antiquities Department spokesman Abdulzahara al-Talaqani. Talaqani said the finds are at least about 2000 years old and the new grave is the largest to be excavated from the same period in Iraq. The Parthians were a Persian dynasty and their name is probably drawn from the Persian dialect they spoke, historically known as Parthava. They established an extensive empire which included Iran, Mesopotamia and other regions. They ruled Iraq for more than three centuries while their empire survived from 247 BC to 224 AD. Talaqani said the grave occupies 306 sq. meters and consists of several floors connected by special staircases. He said Iraqi excavators also came across “pottery pieces of glass all in good condition and that digging is continuing.” The team working on the Parthian grave is one of nine other teams currently excavating Iraq’s ancient treasures. The acting head of the Antiquities Department Qais Hassan said: “The grave exhibits important architectural features. The dead were buried in it with their belongings such as gold, precious stone and pottery.” Hassan declined to give details about the location of the grave for security reasons. “It is not the first time the pick-axes of foreign and Iraq scientists strike Parthian treasures. But this time Iraqi pick-axes have brought to light the largest and the finest Parthian grave which has astonished and surprised us,” Hassan said He said the great care taken “of the architecture, decoration and building of the grave is a sign that the grave does not belong to ordinary people but to the royalty.”

Destruction of Persian Cultural Sites Continues

I believe the Islamic regime in control of Iran at the moment has speeded up their program of destruction of historical Persian sites since the unrest resulting from the rigged Presidential election earlier this year. It is part of the Revolutionary Guard's systemic program of erasing all things pre-Islamic while exerting their control. Here is the latest: From Payvand Iran News 10/28/09 Sassanid site bulldozed in southwestern Iran TEHRAN, Oct. 28 (Mehr News Agency) -- Part of a Sassanid tepe was destroyed last week near Ahvaz, the provincial capital of Khuzestan. The destruction was carried out by the Mehrab Housing Company for construction of a high-rise apartment complex, Khuzestan Cultural Heritage Lovers Society (Taryana) announced on Monday. No permission had been granted by the Khuzestan Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Department (KCHTHD) for the housing company at the site, Taryana spokesman Mojtaba Gahestuni said. [And yet the work went ahead anyway. Does anyone want to bet if the culprits will be brought to justice? Don't hold your breath!] The mound, which covers an area of 10 hectares, had already been damaged by a road construction project, installation of telecommunication poles, other housing projects and establishment of a bazaar, he added. Last April, KCHTHD's experts visited the tepe to convince Iranian officials to register it on the National Heritage List and to take action for the security of the site. However, so far, no decision has been reached by the KCHTHD for safeguarding the mound. Experts had observed ancient bricks, shards, and pieces of glassware scattered about near the construction projects underway at the site. Some archaeologists who have already visited the mound, believe that beneath the tepe, the ruins of a Sassanid city are buried, Gahestuni said.

Elamite Jar Burial Transferred to Museum for Safekeeping

I hope it will be safe in the museum; you never know what the fundamentalist nut-cases who are running Iran may do. They've already flooded out countless ancient Persian ruins with their "dam building" projects and bulldozed others into rubble with their "road building" projects. Still others have been vandalized by bajis - the asshole thugs who think their shit doesn't stink. Ha! I've written about the Iranian government's deliberate destruction of pre-Islamic Persian culture many times in this blog. This was reported by CAIS from a report on Mehr News: Elamite Jar Burial Transferred to Haft-Tappeh Museum Wednesday, 01 July 2009 00:00 LONDON, (CAIS) -- Iran’s most intact jar burial, which dates back to the Elamite era, was transferred to the Haft-Tappeh Museum last week. Containing a skeleton in fetal position, the jar was discovered during the latest excavation carried out several months ago at Haft-Tappeh, a major Elamite site near Susa in Khuzestan Province, the Persian service of CHN reported on Tuesday. “This is the first time such an intact jar burial has been unearthed,” director of the Restoration Department of the Haft-Tappeh and Chogha Zanbil Center Kazem Borhani said. “Urgent actions were taken to preserve the artefact in situ in order to safely transfer it to the centre for restoration,” he stated. A piece of the jar has been removed to enable visitors to see the skeleton inside it, Borhani explained. An anthropologist has begun a series of studies to determine the gender of the skeleton, which is believed to date back to the Middle Elamite period (c. 1500-1100 BCE).

World's Oldest Religion is Dying Out

Again to the Persian Plateau... From Time On Line.com Postcard from Yazd The Last of the Zoroastrians By Deena Guzder Tuesday, Dec. 09, 2008 Far removed from Tehran's bustling tin-roofed teashops and Isfahan's verdant pomegranate gardens, the deserts known as Dasht-e Kavir and Dasht-e Lut meet at the city of Yazd, once the heart of the Persian Empire. Walking across the wind-whipped plains of the forgotten city, a young Iranian woman dressed in colorful floral garbs points out a sand-dusted tower hovering in the distance like a dormant volcano under a relentless sun. "This is where we put tens of thousands of corpses over the years," she explains with a congenial smile. The funerary tower is part of the ancient burial practice of Zoroastrianism, the world's oldest monotheistic religion. Zoroastrians (known in India as Parsis) regard sky burials, in which the bodies are exposed to natural elements including vultures in open-topped "Towers of Silence," as an ecologically friendly alternative to cremation, consistent with their religion's reverence for the earth. A Zoroastrian priest clad in a long, cotton robe explains: "Death is considered to be the work of Angra Mainyu, the embodiment of all that is evil, whereas the earth and all that is beautiful is considered to be the pure work of God. We must not pollute the earth with our remains." The priest believes that open burials are a fulfillment of the central tenet of his religion, which is to practice good deeds. With a forlorn expression, he notes that, 3,000 years after the tradition of open burials began, there are not enough Zoroastrians left alive to keep the tower in Yazd open. Instead, today's Zoroastrians who want to observe traditional burial practices must request in their will that their body is sent to a forested suburb in Mumbai, India, where the last Tower of Silence still operates. In the alabaster prayer room of the Zoroastrian temple in the center of Yazd, a handful of adherents sway to the cadence of ancient Persian prayers recited as a priest feeds sticks of sandalwood and sprinkles of frankincense into a blazing urn. Zoroastrians wear hand-woven wool cords as external symbols of their faith, and almost always pray in front of a fire, which represents purity and sustainability. In Yazd, the holy flame has burned for 1,500 years without ever being extinguished. While Zoroastrianism was once the dominant religion in a swathe of territory spanning from Rome and Greece to India and Russia, the number of adherents has dwindled exponentially over the centuries. Although Yazd is the birthplace of the religion, only 200 of its 433,836 people still practice Zoroastrianism because migration, forced conversions, and centuries of oppression have diminished the population. Worldwide, there are 190,000 Zoroastrians at most, and perhaps as few as 124,000 by some estimates. Although Zoroastrians are few in number, their faith has influenced Judaism, Christianity and Islam with its teachings of a single deity, a dualistic universe of good versus evil, and a final day of reckoning. The religion professes that humankind is designed to evolve toward perfection, but is complicated by evil forces such as greed, lust and hatred, explains Mehraban Firouzgary, the head priest of the Zoroastrian temple in Tehran. According to Zoroastrians, these evil forces must be challenged proactively by developing a "good mind" that embraces a life of good thoughts, good words and good deeds. Despite their shrinking population, Zoroastrians remain fiercely divided over whether to recognize interfaith families, let alone accept non-generational Zoroastrians. Tens of thousands fled Persia during the Islamic incursions in the 10th Century and were granted refuge in India under the condition they did not marry outside their faith or proselytize to the Hindu majority. Ramiyar P. Karanjia, principal of a Zoroastrian religious school in Mumbai, India, insists, "Conversion is not part of our religion." Yet, in India, home to the majority of Zoroastrians, the community is declining by about 10% every decennial census, according to a report released by UNESCO. Today, Zoroastrians remain a tight-knit and self-secluded community that strongly encourages marriage within the faith. According to Parva Namiranian, a Zoroastrian medical student at Tehran University, the community in Iran preserves its identity by learning the Persian poetry of the Shah Nameh and holding religious classes and celebrations. She says Zoroastrians are accepted in Iran because they "represent a proud history" and all Iranians, regardless of religion, enjoy celebrating the Zoroastrian New Year, Nowruz, because it's an excuse to buy clothes and eat sweets. Mehraban Firouzgary, the head priest in the Zoroastrian temple in Tehran, agrees that most Iranians regard the Zoroastrian minority favorably, but he worries about the community's survival. "Zoroastrians have lived in Iran for over 3,000 years," he says, "but there are so few left today."

Ancient Cemetery Turned Into Iranian Garbage Dump

Report from CAIS: Partho-Sasanian Dynastic Cemetery Turned Into Garbage Dump in Susa March 2, 2009 LONDON, (CAIS) -- A Partho-Sasanian (248 BCE – 651 CE) dynastic cemetery, located on the perimeter of the ancient city of Susa in Khuzestan Province, has recently been turned into a garbage dump. Since May 2007, some locals and the Shush Municipality dump their rubbish and the building wastes into a 100x100 meter excavation six meters deep intended for a hotel construction project at the site reported the Persian service of CHN on Monday. The hotel construction project, named Laleh, was cancelled following objections raised by the Iranian and international communities, cultural heritage enthusiasts and a number of world renowned archaeologists, including French archaeologist Rémy Boucharlat. The excavation was to be filled in after an expert study. However so far, no report has been published about the study or when the dig will be filled. In October 2008, another hotel construction project, named Amir Zargar, also infringed upon the Susa perimeter with the digging of some holes near the ancient city. The Amir Zargar project was also halted after the Shush Cultural Heritage Centre filled a lawsuit against the project’s owner. This is not first time Susa has been damaged by the Islamic republic’s organizations. The Sasanian dynastic era palace site of Eyvan-e Karkheh located near Susa had at one point in 2005 been used as a garbage dump. Eyvan-e Karkheh is currently being threatened by agricultural activities of the Islamic Azad University. Susa has also sustained damage from vandals. The column bases of Susa’s Apadana Palace were destroyed by vandals in January 2008. The palace perimeter was also demolished by construction of a preparatory school. The building, which is to be four stories tall, will spoil the view of the profile of the palace ruins. In addition, the historical metropolis of Susa is being obliterated by construction of a passenger bus terminal in the city’s southern section, and three football fields that host many young teams and fans every day. As well as being an archaeological site, Susa is also mentioned in the Old Testament as one of the places where the Daniel lived. His tomb is located in the heart of the city.Susa is one of the oldest known settlements in the region, probably founded around 4000 BCE, though the first traces of an inhabited village date back to 7000 BCE. Susa was destroyed at least four times in its’ long history. The first was in 647 BCE, by the Assyrian king Assurbanipal; the second destruction took place in 331 BCE by Alexander of Macedon; the third destruction was done by the Moslem’s invading armies when they sacked it in 638 CE, and finally the city was completely destroyed by Mongols in 1218.

Ancient Metal Works Found in Bam

Ancient metal workshop found in Bam Fri, 26 Sep 2008 16:52:29 GMT Archeological studies in the city of Bam have led to the discovery of a metal production center in Iran's southeastern Kerman Province. Excavations in the Darestan region, located some 22 kilometers to the east of the city of Bam showed that the area was once a rich metal production center. “In the space of 3,400 to 3,500 BCE [this actually should be 3500 to 34oo BCE] the area was filled with metal workshops in which metals such as copper were extracted,” said team director, Omran Garajian. “The team found a number of honeycombed metal seals, which were popular around 2,600 to 2,100 BCE,” he added. “Similar seals dating back to 2,400 BCE were previously found in eastern Iran. The newly discovered seals were made in 3,400 to 3,500 BCE,” Garajian he said. Archeologists also unearthed a skeleton, a skull and some jewelry. TE/HGH