Yesterday, Sunday, Italy returned a 2,800-year-old cuneiform tablet to Iraq, as part of Baghdad’s attempt to recover the looted antiquities from its lands rich in archaeological sites.
According to several international media reports, the board bears the insignia of Shalmaneser III, the Assyrian king who ruled the Nimrud region (north) from 858 to 823 BC.
According to the same reports, how the tablet arrived in Italy is still unclear. Still, the Italian authorities returned the piece to Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid, during his visit to Bologna on June 14th.
During the ceremony of transferring the tablet to the National Museum, which was held in the presidential palace in the capital, Baghdad, the Iraqi president stressed, “I would like to thank the Italian officials for their efforts and cooperation to return this piece”.
According to the statements of the head of the Iraqi General Authority for Antiquities and Heritage, Laith Majeed Hussein, to the press, the tablet bears the titles of King Shalmaneser III, his father, Ashurnasirpal II, and his grandfather.