National Museum of Iran, Tehran

The National Museum of Iran, in the capital Tehran, is an archaeological and historical museum concerning Persian history. Its two buildings house pre-Islamic and post-Islamic artifacts respectively. The first building comprises objects from the lower, middle and upper Paleolithic, the Neolithic, the Chalcolithic, Bronze Ages and Iron Ages, right through to the Median, Achaemenid, Seleucid, Parthian and Sassanid periods. The building was designed by French architect Andre Godard. A new building is planned for construction in the near future. The oldest artifacts in the first building are from the ancient sites of Kashafrud, Darband and Ganj Par. Standout objects include Parthian figures and decorated bowls.

The museum's second building, inaugurated in 1996, is home to thousands of items in the fields of pottery, textiles, texts, artworks, astrolabes, and adobe calligraphy from the past 1,400 years of Islamic influence. Many items are routinely loaned out to institutions such as the British Museum.