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Babylonian treasure seized at Heathrow to be returned to Iraq
Source: The Guardian
Babylonian treasure seized at Heathrow to be returned to Iraq
Stone dating from second millennium BC was claimed to be ‘for home decoration’
Dalya Alberge
Sun 10 Mar 2019 13.39 GMT Last modified on Sun 10 Mar 2019 13.42 GMT
An attempt to smuggle a Babylonian treasure into Britain has been foiled after it was seized at Heathrow airport.
The inscribed cuneiform stone antiquity, which is about 30cm high, had been looted from Iraq. Dating from the second millennium BC, it is worthy of the world’s greatest museums and valued at hundreds of thousands of pounds.
A Border Force officer’s suspicions were raised by a declaration that the cargo contained a “carved stone for home decoration” made in Turkey and valued at “300” in an unspecified currency.
After Googling the object, the officer contacted the British Museum, having discovered that its collection boasted one of the few surviving examples of a Babylonian kudurru, an official document drawn up on the instructions of the Babylonian king to record the gift of lands or other benefits bestowed on particular individuals.
Later this month the British Museum will stage the object’s official handover to Iraq.
-snip-
Stone dating from second millennium BC was claimed to be ‘for home decoration’
Dalya Alberge
Sun 10 Mar 2019 13.39 GMT Last modified on Sun 10 Mar 2019 13.42 GMT
An attempt to smuggle a Babylonian treasure into Britain has been foiled after it was seized at Heathrow airport.
The inscribed cuneiform stone antiquity, which is about 30cm high, had been looted from Iraq. Dating from the second millennium BC, it is worthy of the world’s greatest museums and valued at hundreds of thousands of pounds.
A Border Force officer’s suspicions were raised by a declaration that the cargo contained a “carved stone for home decoration” made in Turkey and valued at “300” in an unspecified currency.
After Googling the object, the officer contacted the British Museum, having discovered that its collection boasted one of the few surviving examples of a Babylonian kudurru, an official document drawn up on the instructions of the Babylonian king to record the gift of lands or other benefits bestowed on particular individuals.
Later this month the British Museum will stage the object’s official handover to Iraq.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2019/mar/10/babylonian-treasure-seized-at-heathrow-to-be-returned-to-iraq