Iran Press/Iran news: Thanks to the efforts of the Cultural Heritage Organization, the Foreign Ministry, and the legal department of the Presidential Office, over 1700 ancient clay tablets have been returned to Iran's National Museum. The clay tablets were kept at the University of Chicago Institute of Oriental Studies in the United States before they were given back to Iran in four consignments.
The unveiling ceremony for the cuneiform clay tablets was attended by Christopher Woods, the Director of Chicago University's Oriental Institute, and Muhammad Hassan Talebian, the Deputy Cultural Heritage Minister at the National Museum in Tehran on Wednesday 2 October 2019, Iran Press reported.
One of the speakers at the ceremony was Jebrael Nokandeh the managing director of the National Museum who said: "These tablets were sent to the US for more research and study and have been returned to the country in four different stages.
The tablets date back to 509-499 BC.
Christopher Woods, the Director of Chicago University's Oriental Institute said: "Glad to be here in Iran for the first time and thanks for the invitation. Iran has an integral cultural role in the region during long periods.
"It has been a complicated process sending the tablets to Iran. We thank Iran giving us these tablets for studying and decoding to see how Achaemenids lived. One of our main aims is to cooperate with Iran in this regard. This is my honor during my 2-year directing the post to cooperate with Iran on this issue," he added.
In total, 1783 ancient clay tablets were unveiled on Wednesday at the National Museum in Tehran. 101/211
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