An ancient clay tablet displaying part of the story of a superhuman king will be returned to Iraq by the US on Thursday. Known as the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet, the 3,600-year-old religious text shows a section of a Sumerian poem from the Epic of Gilgamesh.
It is one of the world's oldest works of literature and was looted from an Iraqi museum during the Gulf War in 1991.
Over the past 30 years, it has been smuggled through many countries, accompanied by false documents. Until just two years ago, it was prominently displayed in a museum near the seat of the US government.
But later on Thursday, the text will begin a new journey back to its homeland when it is formally handed over at a ceremony in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC.
------------------------------------------------------------------ A rightful thing to do and deserving world recognition.
Expect more to follow.
