Epic of gilgamesh tablet v11/9/2023 “It is a message to all those who smuggle and sell our antiquities in auctions that in the end they will be repatriated." “In addition to its historical value, it has a symbolic value for restitution,” Mr Nazim said at a ceremony to celebrate the return at the Foreign Ministry. Iraqi Culture Minister, Hassan Nazim, told reporters the tablet had two points of value to the Iraqi people. The return of three artefacts - among them the so-called 'Gilgamesh Dream' tablet - that were stolen mostly from the national museum after the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq and smuggled out of the country. The chain of arts and crafts shops was forced by the US government to relinquish the items in 2017 and fined $3 million for failing to act on expert advice that the objects may have been looted or to declare their provenance to the authorities. The tablets and other objects were seized from the Oklahoma-based Hobby Lobby company. ![]() It was part of a group of more than 17,000 artefacts smuggled from Iraq decades ago and illegally imported to nations around the world. The 127mm by 152mm fragment dates back 3,500 to 4,000 years. A rare antique clay tablet that bears a portion of the Epic of Gilgamesh was returned to Iraq from the US on Tuesday in a victory for the war-torn nation in its long-running struggle to repatriate stolen artefacts.
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