Philadelphia CBP officers intercept Bronze Age swords and arrowheads from the northeastern region of Iran

PHILADELPHIA – U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers had a chance to touch history recently in Philadelphia after they encountered swords and arrowheads that date back to the Bronze Age, almost 4,000 years ago.

CBP officers seized 36 copper-alloy short swords and 50 copper-alloy arrowheads on Feb. 18 that were unlawfully imported to the United States.

The shipment initially arrived on an express delivery flight from the United Arab Emirates on Oct. 16. It was destined to an address in Jacksonville, Fla.

CBP officers x-rayed the shipment, which was manifested as metal decoration articles, and detected sword-like objects. Officers then opened the shipment and discovered the swords and arrowheads. Officers suspected the items to be cultural artifacts and detained the shipment for further investigation.

CBP officers contacted the National Targeting Center’s Antiquities Unit, which solicited assistance from an archaeologist affiliated with a local Philadelphia university with extensive experience working in the Middle East.

On Feb. 13, the archaeologist authenticated the short swords and arrowheads as antiquities dating back to the later 2nd millennium BCE, 1600-1000 BCE, from an area along the southwestern Caspian Sea near the lush Talish Mountains region of Iran. The antiquities are suspected to have been derived from illicit excavations of burial sites.

CBP officers will safeguard the antiquities until a disposition is ordered.

“Customs and Border Protection officers strive to rescue cultural artifacts from the grips of illicit international traders who plunder and exploit another nation’s heritage for profit,” said Elliot N. Ortiz, CBP’s Acting Area Port Director in Philadelphia. “The deceptive practices used to smuggle these treasures into the United States not only violate our import laws but also undermine efforts to preserve and protect the integrity of cultural history.”

Most countries have laws that protect their cultural property. These laws include export controls and national ownership of cultural property. Even if purchased from a business in the country of origin or in another country, the purchase does not necessarily confer ownership for lawful importation into the United States.

Importation of such items is permitted only when an export permit issued by the country of origin is presented with the article. Purveyors of such items have been known to offer phony export certificates.

Additional U.S. import restrictions may be imposed in response to requests from other countries.

CBP's border security mission is led at our nation’s Ports of Entry by CBP officers and agriculture specialists from the Office of Field Operations. CBP screens international travelers and cargo and searches for illicit narcotics, unreported currency, weapons, counterfeit consumer goods, prohibited agriculture, invasive weeds and pests, and other illicit products that could potentially harm the American public, U.S. businesses, and our nation’s safety and economic vitality. Learn what CBP accomplished during "A Typical Day."

Learn more at www.CBP.gov.

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