Science: Mound of Golden Eggs

By day, Iranian Archaeologist Ezat Negahban and his crew dig spectacular ancient artifacts out of a low mound in the fertile Goha Valley, 186 miles northwest of Teheran. By night, they stand guard against raiding peasants, crooked local officials and stealthy professional thieves. The round-the-clock duty is wearing but necessary, for the location is one of the richest in archaeological history, and the entire valley around the mound has gone digger-daffy. Peasants are even uprooting their vines and fruit trees in a frantic search for ancient gold.

The treasure hunt was unwittingly begun by Professor Negahban when he organized a routine archaeological...

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