TEHRAN – Iranian police have recently confiscated historical relics related to Seljuk era (1037–1194) from an illegal excavation in a house located in the city of Abhar, west-central Zanjan province.

“An earthenware jar and several clay caps have been seized from a house in Abhar where an unauthorized excavation was underway,” CHTN quoted Zanjan’s tourism chief Amir Arjmand as saying on Wednesday.

“According to the cultural heritage’s set of laws and regulations, any excavation intended to obtain buried relics and monuments is prohibited and is subject to penalty,” Arjmand said.

Abhar is a historical town surrounding a castle of the same name, he said, adding that archaeological evidence suggest its origin dates from some six millennia ago.

The official, however, did not provide more detail about the exact time of the confiscation and probable culprits detained in that regard.

Seljuk, also spelled, Seljuq, was a ruling military family of the Oguz (Ghuzz) Turkic tribes that invaded southwestern Asia in the 11th century and eventually founded an empire that included Mesopotamia, Syria, Palestine, and most of Iran. Their advance marked the beginning of Turkish power in the Middle East.

AFM/MG