A modernisation project might just save an unearthed historical site in Iran that could one day prove to be invaluable to the study of the region.

The American contractor that built the infrastructure for a base adjacent to the ancient site is responsible for much of the destruction, says an independent report

Iran has clamped down on illegal trade in antiquities, which has led to archaeological sites being promptly denuded post-discovery

“To see this happen breaks my heart”, says archaeologist Dr Henry Wright

It is the first time that Iranian courts have issued a harsh punishment for the illicit exportation of goods from an archaeological site

The fair will occupy the space in the fair calendar left bare by the now-defunct Cultura

In an article Bahrani wrote for the Guardian, she stated “[We have seen the] active destruction of the archaeological and historical record of the land”

As The British Museum prepares to loan the Cyrus Cylinder to Iran, The Art Newspaper remembers the Persian antiquity's first visit to its home nation in 1971

He ordered the governor of Novgorod to make builders wait until archaeologists had finished excavating

The BBC asks whether Lord Elgin's actions could be justified as the spotlight on the Greeks rekindles the Elgin marbles debate, and Channel 4 programme has dealers weigh in on the state of the art market

The US-Iraqi academic has turned her attention to addressing the unauthorised excavation of archaeological sites

If an item is not immediately handed over to a “constable”, its owner could be receiving a prison sentence, even if he has legal title to the object

The ambassador assesses the situation on the ground and recommends that swift action must be taken if cultural landmarks are to remain

The venture is backed by the Iraqi authorities, who have a stake in the newfound Iraq Project Company

This vast landscaping and urban renewal project has also uncovered Saladin’s walls

12th-century temple at risk from encroaching tropical forests

Pieces were seized from three auction houses, a lawsuit is now pending

The organisations will survey the condition of the country’s historic sites and then raise money for their restoration

By expressing their wish to join an international cultural task force, Iran acknowledges the mutual cultural history that ties the two countries

Many of the objects, some extant since the first millennium BC, were looted from the site and entered the international market

Hicham Aboutaam sold the antiquity to a New York buyer for $950,000; the US says it is part of a the looted Western Cave hoard

Highlights from the university's museum on show in 'Treasures from the royal tombs of Ur'

Found in the headquarters of Saddam’s secret police force in Baghdad, the cache has been transferred to Washington for conservation

Before police intervened, thousands of objects were plundered by locals and sold on to Europe

It is now an offence to handle an object if you know that it was illegally removed from a site anywhere in the world after 2003

The Americans did not list protection of Uruk as necessary when they handed over administration to the Netherlands

The exhibition could raise money to repair the ransacked National Museum of Iraq

New exhibition at the Louvre, Paris.

There on an official visit to gauge the level of damage done by looting, Pietro Cordone came out of the incident unscathed, although his interpreter was killed

Archaeologists say the artefacts are likely to have been smuggled out of Iraq