Ancient tablet acquired by Hobby Lobby going back to Iraq

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Ancient tablet acquired by Hobby Lobby going back to Iraq
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A 3,500-year-old clay tablet discovered in the ruins of the library of an ancient Middle Eastern king is headed back to Iraq. Officials believe the relic was illegally imported into the U.S. in 2003, then sold to Hobby Lobby and put on display at a museum.

The $1.7 million cuneiform clay tablet was found in 1853 as part of a 12-tablet collection in the rubble of the library of Assyrian King Assur Banipal. Officials believe it was illegally imported into the United States in 2003, then sold to Hobby Lobby and eventually put on display in its Museum of the Bible in the nation’s capital.known as the Gilgamesh Dream tablet

“By returning these illegally acquired objects, the authorities here in the United States and in Iraq are allowing the Iraqi people to reconnect with a page in their history,” said Audrey Azoulay, director general of the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. “This exceptional restitution is a major victory over those who mutilate heritage and then traffic it to finance violence and terrorism.

“It’s really special to me. I’m a Chaldean Iraqi and leading the agency that did this work,” Francis said. “It is really something.”The sculpture, from 3000 B.C., was used for religious vows in Sumerian temples. Investigators believe it had been stolen from an archaeological site in southern Iraq, then passed off as part of a collection that had been discovered years earlier.

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