Following various discussions in November on the proposed loan of the Cyrus Cylinder, there are now going to be further delays to the loan, caused by the emergence of some new fragments of the cylinder that are being studied before anything else happens to it. Its unclear quite why these fragments have suddenly transpired now.

From:
Bloomberg News

British Museum Delays Sending Artifact to Iran After New Find
Last Updated: January 11, 2010 07:33 EST
By Farah Nayeri

Jan. 11 (Bloomberg) — The British Museum, which faces demands from Iran to lend an ancient artifact known as the Cyrus Cylinder, said it would delay sending the object there after making a discovery.

In agreement with the Iranian Cultural Heritage, Handicraft and Tourism Organization, the Cylinder will stay in London after similar inscriptions were found on two pieces of cuneiform tablet in the museum’s collections that may shed light on its “missing” or “obscure” passages, the museum said in an e-mailed news release.
Read the rest of this entry »