Researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem uncovered rare cave pearls containing man-made objects within an ancient subterranean ... Iron Age, Persian, or Babylonian periods, according ...

until appraisers said it was an ancient Persian artifact. The 5½-inch gold cup, which experts have dated to the third or fourth century B.C., fetched $100,000 at an auction in Dorchester ...

This relic from ancient Persia had a profound influence on the Founding Fathers. More on the Cyrus Cylinder: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution ...