UNESCO officials will return a stone inscription bearing part of the Epic of Gilgamesh to their counterparts from Iraq at a ceremony in Washington on Thursday, September 23 at the Smithsonian Institution, the UN agency said in a statement.
17,000 other artifacts, also looted following the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, will be returned to Baghdad at the event.
"By returning these illegally acquired objects, the authorities here in the United States and Iraq are allowing the Iraqi people to reconnect with a page in their history," UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay said, adding that this restitution was a "major victory over those who mutilate heritage and then traffic it to finance violence and terrorism."
'Unprecedented' restitution
In July, the US Department of Justice announced it would be returning the artifacts to Iraq.
Calling the restitution "unprecedented," Iraqi culture minister Hassan Nazim said in a press statement at the time that it was "the largest return of antiquities to Iraq" and a "result of months of efforts by the Iraqi authorities in conjunction with their embassy in Washington."
In 2018, the British government returned ancient objects that were similarly looted after the US invasion and which then appeared in England.
Joy in Iraq
Speaking to DW, Iraqi historian Abdullah Khorsheed Qader, archaeologist and professor at the Salah-al-Din University in Erbil, northern Iraq, and director of the Iraqi Institute for the Conservation of Antiquities and Heritage, said he was elated the objects were being brought back to his country. "Feeling great and hopeful because of the positive responses from the United States of America," he told DW in an email in July.
Stolen during the US invasion
"Most of these artifacts were part of the materials that were that were looted from the Iraq Museum in Baghdad during the US invasion," Elizabeth Stone, an archaeologist and professor of anthropology at the Stony Brook University in New York, told DW.
Stone has been a part of various archaeological expeditions to Iraq, including a notable one in 2012, where she and her team excavated close to the site of Ur, the home of the biblical figure of Abraham.
According to Stone, these objects left Iraq through illegal trade in antiquities. "It was clear to everyone that these had been stolen from the Museum since they had catalog numbers on them and so could not have come from illegal excavations."
Some objects were confiscated by customs officials, but others were bought by Cornell University and Hobby Lobby, the arts and crafts chain, Stone said.
Hobby Lobby's involvement
Hobby Lobby was in the news recently after it was revealed the business had acquired a rare tablet in cuneiform script, inscribed with a portion of the Epic of Gilgamesh. The object was bought to display at the Museum of the Bible in Washington DC — the institution is funded by the family of David Green, Hobby Lobby's founder.
On July 27, a New York court ordered the forfeiture of the object, which was reportedly purchased by an American antiquities dealer from the family of a London coin dealer, the US Department of Justice said in a statement.
"The antiquities dealer and a US cuneiform expert shipped the tablet into the United States by international post without declaring the contents as required. After the tablet was imported and cleaned, experts in cuneiform recognized it as bearing a portion of the Gilgamesh Epic. The tablet measures approximately 6 inches by 5 inches [15 x 12 centimeters] and is written in the Akkadian language," according to the press statement.
The Epic of Gilgamesh
The Sumerian poem is considered one of the oldest works of literature, and together with several thousand other objects, comprises one of the largest caches of archaeologically important artifacts that were stolen from Iraq during its turbulent years.
According to UNESCO, the Gilgamesh tablet was stolen in the 1990s, following the Gulf War, emerging fraudulently in the US market in 2007.
Illegal excavation, theft and smuggling of historical artifacts is an ongoing problem — especially in Iraq and Syria — with black market dealers, smugglers and members of the "Islamic State" (IS) exploiting the chaotic situation in the region, where it is relatively easy to find antiquities and sell them abroad.
What's left of the ancient city of Palmyra?
IS strikes again
What is now left of the ancient ruins at Palmyra - known as the "Pearl of the Desert" - is uncertain after a new strike by IS militants on Thursday. This photo shows the face of statue at a destroyed museum in March 2016. Syrian government forces had recaptured Palmyra that month from jihadists, who view the UNESCO-listed site's ancient ruins as idolatrous.
What's left of the ancient city of Palmyra?
Once grandiose, now rubble
This image of Palmyra's Tetrapylon was taken in 2014. If SANA agency reports are correct, this monument is no longer standing. Current images after Thursday's reported strike are still unavailable.
What's left of the ancient city of Palmyra?
Amphitheater also suffers a blow
This image shows the Roman amphitheater, which was originally built around 200 A.D., in April 2016. Reports now say the facade has been destroyed by IS extremists. In 2015, jihadists used the site - which once premiered plays - for mass executions. After the city was retaken from IS last year, the Russian government staged a classical music concert here to celebrate the success.
What's left of the ancient city of Palmyra?
Never-ending destruction
Palmyra's National Museum, shown here, also suffered heavy losses under IS rule. Its treasures were looted, some were damaged and others burned.
What's left of the ancient city of Palmyra?
Before and after
This picture, taken last March, shows the ruins of Palmyra's Temple of Baalshamin - just two columns left standing after IS destruction the year before. The smaller image, held by the photographer, shows the image he took in 2014 - with clearly more in the background behind the columns.
Author: Sabine Oelze (als)
Iraqi officials prepare
Meanwhile, archaeologists like Qader are happy that efforts to bring back the treasures have borne fruit. "Iraqi contacts with the American side made it clear that the smuggled antiquities are in the safe hands of the American Homeland Security," Qader says. Embassy officials had been communicating for many years to recover these pieces and "this has become a reality, finally," adds Qader.
He hopes that the rest of the world, too, will step in and help recover other lost artifacts. Meanwhile, the archaeologist and his colleagues are busy laying the groundwork for re-establishing archaeological institutions that were damaged during years of war and conflict.
Together with US organizations like the Smithsonian Institution and the University of Delaware, Qader, the director of the Iraqi Institute for the Conservation of Antiquities and Heritage, is training young professionals and educating the community.
One important goal of his program is "restoring confidence and self-belief in the Iraqi Museum community and archaeological professionals by building and strengthening a national conservation program for cultural heritage."
Exciting archaeological discoveries of 2021
Hellenistic-era warship in sunken city
A Greek warship found in the sunken city of Heraklion in the Abi Qir Bay in Egypt, is the latest discovery of very rare Hellenistic-era ships. Heraklion - also known as Thonis - was hit by earthquakes, tsunamis, rising sea levels, and soil liquefaction at end of the 2nd century BC. The ship was docking near the temple of Amun, when the entire city collapsed, burying it under the debris.
Exciting archaeological discoveries of 2021
Opulent city hall
In early July, Israeli archaeologists found what may have been a 2,000-year-old city council building during excavations under Jerusalem’s Old City. The opulent hall is believed to have been a banquet hall for the elite. It is located close to the site of the Second Temple, which was destroyed by the Romans during the Siege of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.
Exciting archaeological discoveries of 2021
Missing link in alphabet history
A 3,100-year-old pottery fragment inscribed with the name "Jerubbaal," relating to the biblical Book of Judges, was found this month in southern Israel. Written in early Canaanite script, it provides a rare and valuable clue to the development and spread of writing systems in the region, as it is unusual for local researchers to find any writing from the 12th and 11th centuries B.C.
Exciting archaeological discoveries of 2021
Nimble-fingered Neanderthals
This 51,000-year-old bone decorated by a Neanderthal was found in July in the Unicorn Cave in Germany's Harz Mountains. The lines purposefully carved into the toe bone belonging to a prehistoric deer may have had symbolic meaning. Archeologists were blown away by the artifact because it was evidence that the Stone Age hominids were capable of artistic expression.
Exciting archaeological discoveries of 2021
A quirky find
During excavations in the Israeli town of Yavne in June, archeologists discovered an intact 1,000-year-old ancient chicken egg. Comparing it to the shelf life of modern-day eggs, they said, "The egg's unique preservation is evidently due to the conditions in which it lay for centuries, nestled in a cesspit containing soft human waste that preserved it." Sadly, it cracked later in the lab.
Exciting archaeological discoveries of 2021
A new type of hominid
In June, researchers found the remains of the "Nesher Ramla Homo type." The took the name from the area in Israel where they had been doing excavation work in a sinkhole. The hominids lived alongside our species over 100,000 years ago. The finds included this jaw that belonged to a person who lived 120,000 to 140,000 years ago.
Exciting archaeological discoveries of 2021
Lost golden city of Luxor
Egyptologists announced the discovery of a 3,000-year-old "lost golden city" near Luxor in April, touting it as one of the most important discoveries since Tutankhamun's tomb. It dates back to the reign of Amenhotep III, one of Egypt's most powerful pharaohs, who ruled from 1391 to 1353 B.C.
Exciting archaeological discoveries of 2021
An ancient 3D map?
In April, French archaeologists said they believed the Saint-Belec slab, which dates from the Bronze Age and was unearthed in 1900 in western France, may be Europe's oldest 3D map. The 4,000-year-old etchings on the slab measuring 2.2 by 1.5 meters (7.2 by 5 ft) appear to resemble topographical features such as hills and a river network, maybe referring to an area in modern-day western Brittany.
Exciting archaeological discoveries of 2021
The mask that launched countless memes
This mysterious ceremonial gold mask found in March in Sanxingdui, in China’s Sichuan Province, unwittingly became a social media sensation after its discovery. Having inspired memes and tribute videos in China, the 3,000-year-old artefact was one of 500 Bronze-Age relics that experts said could provide new insights on the ancient Shu state, which ruled the area before 316 B.C.
Exciting archaeological discoveries of 2021
World's oldest woven basket
In March, Israeli archaeologists found a well-preserved basket with a capacity of about 100 liters (26 gallons) dating back to the pre-pottery Neolithic period, roughly 10,500 years ago. Found in the Muraba'at Caves in the Judean Desert above the Dead Sea, it was buried under almost three feet of soil. It's exquisite preservation due to the region's high temperatures and extreme aridity.
Exciting archaeological discoveries of 2021
Oldest known cave painting
In 2021, Australian and Indonesian archaeologists found cave paintings in Sulawesi, Indonesia. Depicting prehistoric Indonesian pigs, they were done using ochre, an inorganic mineral that cannot be carbon dated. Researchers instead dated the calcium stalagmites and stalactites surrounding the paintings and found that the oldest painting was created at least 45,500 years ago.
Author: Brenda Haas
This article was updated from a previous version, published on July 30, 2021.