Photo: Reuters-
Metropolis Desk-
After being repatriated by Italy after nearly forty years, a 2,800-year-old stone tablet is now on exhibit in Iraq.
The artifact is written in its entirety in the ancient Babylonian alphabet found in cuneiform, a system of writing on clay. President Abdul Latif Rashid of Iraq received it last week from Italian authorities in the city of Bologna.
The tablet’s discovery and how it got to Italy, where it was seized by authorities in the 1980s, are both mysteries. It might have been discovered during archeological investigations of the Mosul Dam, which was constructed around that time, according to Iraq’s Minister of Culture Ahmed Badrani.
Iraq, which is frequently referred to as the “cradle of civilization,” is credited for creating writing, among other things.
The largest collection of books on science, art, math, medicine, and philosophy was housed in the nation’s Bayt al-Hikmah (House of Wisdom) in the late 8th century. Following the US-led invasion 20 years ago, looting of the nation’s antiquities increased.
The president of Iraq commended Italy for its cooperation and pledged to endeavor to retrieve all of the archaeological artifacts related to Iraqi history that have been lost overseas.
Source – BBC
