Weapons from 2000 BC Seized During Layover at Philadelphia Airport
A stunning discovery was made in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, when customs officials confiscated a shipment of dozens of swords and arrowheads dating back 4,000 years to the Bronze Age.
On February 18, Customs and Border Protection officers seized 36 copper alloy short swords and 50 copper alloy arrowheads that they determined were illegally imported into the United States.
The shipment originally arrived on an express delivery flight from the United Arab Emirates on October 16 and was destined for an address in Jacksonville, Florida.
According to a CBP announcement Friday:
CBP officers X-rayed the shipment, which was in the form of metal decorative items, and detected objects resembling swords. The officers then opened the cargo and discovered the swords and arrowheads. Officers suspected they were cultural items and held the shipment for further investigation.
CBP officers contacted the National Targeting Center’s antiquities unit, which requested assistance from an archaeologist affiliated with a local Philadelphia university with extensive experience working in the Middle East. On February 13, the archaeologist authenticated the short swords and arrowheads as antiquities dating back to the late 2nd millennium BCE, between 1600 and 1000 BCE, from an area along the southwest Caspian Sea near the lush Talish Mountains region of Iran.
According to the customs agency, the antiquities came from illicit excavations of burial sites.
Federal authorities released video of the discovery to the media:
“Customs and Border Protection officers work to save cultural artifacts from the clutches of illicit international traders who pillage and exploit another country’s heritage for profit,” said Elliot N. Ortiz, Acting Director of CBP’s Philadelphia Regional Port.
He continued: “The deceptive practices used to smuggle these treasures into the United States not only violate our importation laws, but also undermine efforts to preserve and protect the integrity of cultural history. »
Most countries protect their cultural property through various laws, including export controls and national ownership, federal officials said.
“Even if purchased from a company in the country of origin or another country, the purchase does not necessarily confer ownership for legal importation into the United States,” CBP said in its statement.
CBP added that importation of such items is only permitted when an export permit issued by the country of origin is presented with the item, although smugglers of such items are known to offer false documents.
The authorities are safeguarding the antiquities until a disposition is ordered so that they can be returned to their rightful owner. No arrests related to the former transport have been announced.
Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the bestselling author of the Los Angeles crime novel Below the line and nine other mystery novels and non-fiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com to find out more.
