Archeologists digging on a farm in Western Iran have uncovered a bronze coffin that revealed a human skeleton with a solid gold mask. The coffin dates back to between 1700 to 2200 years ago, to what was the Parthian Empire that had once encompassed what is now all of modern-day Iran, Iraq, Armenia and parts of Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Afganistan, Tajikistan, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan from 247 BCE. to 224 CE.
     Sirous Ebrahamini, head of the Lorestan Cultural Heritage Organization expalined, "This finding is without presidence in our province. We were told by locals that there were people searching the area with metal detectors, so we rushed to the area and sealed it off."
     In spite of this exciting find, archeologists have said little in terms of written primary sources being uncovered, adding some weight to the wave of recent discoveries in this area.
 
Sources: Independent Online, Iol.co.za (14 May 2005)