Gold Plaque from the Persian Empire In the nineteenth century a huge collection of silver and gold objects from the fifth and fourth centuries B.C.E., including this gold plaque, was found on the banks of the Oxus River in what is now Tajikistan. Most likely, the spot had been a ferry crossing and the objects had been buried long ago. The plaque shows a man in the dress of the Medes with a short sword and a bundle of sticks called a barsom, which was used in religious ceremonies. Plaques such as this may have been offerings to a god. (© The Trustees of the British Museum)