May 14, 2004

In a First Among U.S. Institutions Since 1979, U. of Chicago Returns Ancient Artifacts to Iran

By JOHN L. PULLEY

The University of Chicago has returned ancient artifacts from the Persian Empire to Iran, marking the first time that borrowed archaeological items have been returned by an American institution to Iran since its 1979 revolution, university officials said.

The university's Oriental Institute returned to the Iranian Cultural Heritage Organization this month a set of 300 clay tablets whose cuneiform inscriptions document administrative life in Persia around 500 B.C. The tablets were among