More Gold Plates

Gold plates are not new to the ancient regions of Mesopotamia (Iraq) and Persia (Iran). The Assyrian, Babylonian, and Persian kings left inscribed records on gold, silver, and bronze plates deposited in stone boxes buried beneath the foundations of their palaces.[1] Now a new set of gold plates has been unearthed at Bardak-e Siah, near Borazjan in the southern Bushehr province of Iran. The find consists of three thick plates of pure gold folded over, according to Iranian archaeologist Eshan Yaghmai, who has been working at the site for a number of years. Yaghmai believes that it is likely that, once unfolded, the plates will be found to be inscribed. The three plates, weighing a total of 6.6 pounds, were unearthed in April 2005 and, based on other datable artifacts found in association with the plates, are from about 500 BC.

[1] See H. Curtis Wright, "Ancient Burials of Metal Documents in Stone Boxes," in By Study and Also by Faith, ed. John M. Lundquist and Stephen D. Ricks (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book and FARMS, 1990), 2:273—334.