April 30, 2018
The e-commerce website “Divar” (‘Wall’) is offering the base of an ancient stone pillar which may belong to the Sassanid Empire (224-651 AD) for sale.
The seller, who reportedly resides in the southwestern city of Bushehr, however, believes that the artifact dates back to the time of the Achaemenid King, Cyrus the Great (549-530 BC), the Mizan News Agency said.
Many people engage in the unauthorized sale of ancient artifacts. The investigative unit of the Iran Cultural Heritage, Handicraft, and Tourism Organization (ICHTO) has not been able to educate e-commerce websites on the illegal nature of these trades.
The individual who offered the stone base for sale told Mizan: “I discovered these artifacts in Borazjan, Bushehr. An investigative unit from ICHTO has confiscated the objects. I’ve taken down my ad from Divar’s website.”
The director of ICHTO’s Bushehr office, Naser Amirzadeh, said: “This individual had found these objects in his yard. We believe the online advertisement was limited to the sale of those artifacts. It’s very common for people in these parts to discover ancient artifacts around their homes.”
Many sellers of antiques and ancient artifacts in other cities post their advertisements on Divar. Other websites had previously published notices for the sale of historical objects including tiles from the Niavaran Palace in northern Tehran (the former residence of the Qajar and Pahlavi dynasties.)
