A 3,000-year-old carved stone tablet will be taken back home from Britain after being looted during the Iraq War.
During a ceremony on Tuesday, experts of the British Museum had verified the authenticity of the tablet from Babylonia, which was said to place a curse on anyone who tries to destroy it.
Museum director Hartwig Fischer handed over the priceless work to Iraqi Ambassador Salih Husain Ali.
“It is a very important piece of Iraq’s cultural heritage,” said Fischer, praising the “extraordinary and tireless work” of border officials.
For his part, Ambassador Ali said the handover came after continued cooperation between the Iraqi embassy in London and the British authorities.
“As a representative of the Iraqi government, I am looking to receive more handovers in the future if any Iraqi antiquities are found here,” Ambassador Ali said in remarks.
In May 2012, the attempt to smuggle the piece into Britain was foiled by the UK Border Force at London’s Heathrow airport.