Iranian ancient civilization has presented masterpieces of works in the fields of art and culture to the world. These culture properties have been subjects of violation, theft and despoilment for avaricious temptations in a way that every day different crimes will be committed against art and cultural heritage.
One of the said crimes is illegal exploration and excavation for art and cultural properties which has a long history in the life of mankind. Therefore, protection of this heritage particularly criminal protection has been paid much attention in recent years.
This paper examines the underlying elements of illegal exploration and excavation and analyses the relevant statutory provisions and will come to the conclusion that with doing of the two acts of \"exploration\" or \"excavation\", the said crime will be committed. The legislator has not paid heed to the crime tool for illegal exploration and excavation. Additionally, procurement, purchase and use of manuscripts to find treasures have not been criminalized. In summary, Iranian criminal laws do not meet the challenging issues with respect to the protection of historical and cultural heritage against the abovementioned crime. In order to solve this problem, some suggestions will be presented in this regard.
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